^' 


Ji.^J.X^ 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


PRESENTED    BY 


Mc\/.  ZD-TB.  rVluimmeT — l- 


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l^inldli.i. 

Hodliisattvii  Sainanta  Hliadr.i,  Hodliisattva  Manjii^ri, 

Kiinesfiitinn  the  iJiiiicipli  Kcpiesentinn  tlie  i>riiiciple 

<)t  pai  tiriilai  ity  or  ot  universality  or 

love.  wisdom. 

.\ninda.  MaliakA^yapa. 

A    r\I'!f.\i.    Kl  I'KKSKN  r  \1  ION  OV    I  H  K    M.ahAnaNA    FA  III  I . 


/ 


^ 


0 


ACVAGHOSHA'S  DISCOURSR  ^ 


F£B  C?  1929 


'4^ 


ON  THE 


AWAKENING  OF  FAITH 


IN  THE 


>^  >v 


MAHAYANA 


:^ 


TRANSLATED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME  FROM  THE 
CHINESE  VERSION 


BY 


TEITARO  SUZUKI 


CHICAGO 
THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

LONDON  AGENTS 

Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

1900 


o 


ti  ^  2 


PUBLISHER'S  PREFACE. 

ACVAGHOSH A  is  the  pliilosopher  of  Bud- 
dhism. His  treatise  on  The  Awaken- 
ing of  Faith  is  recognised  by  all  Northern 
schools  and  sects  as  orthodox  and  used  even 
to-day  in  Chinese  translations  as  a  text-book 
for  the  instruction  of  Buddhist  priests. 

The  original  Sanskrit  text  has  not  been 
found  as  yet,  and  if  it  should  not  be  discovered 
somewhere  in  India  or  in  one  of  the  numerous 
libraries  of  the  Buddhist  viharas,  it  would  be 
a  great  loss ;  for  then  our  knowledge  of  A^va- 
ghosha's  philosophy  would  remain  limited  to 
its  Chinese  translation. 

A9vaghosha's  treatise  on  The  Awakening 
of  Faith  is  a  small  booklet,  a  monograph  of 
the  usual  size  of  Chinese  fascicles,  comprising 
in  its  Chinese  dress  no  more  than  about 
10,800  characters,  and  may  be  read  through 
in  a  few  hours.  But  the  importance  of  this 
monograph  stands  in  no  relation  to  its  brev- 


iv  publisher's  preface. 

ity,  and  it  is  very  strange  that  no  translation 
of  it  has  appeared  as  yet  in  any  European  lan- 
guage. I  was  therefore  exceedingly  glad  that 
Mr.  Teitaro  Suzuki,  a  Japanese  Buddhist  and 
a  disciple  of  the  Rev.  Shaku  Soyen,  the  dis- 
tinguished Abbot  of  Kamakura,  who  was  one 
of  the  delegates  of  the  Parliament  of  Reli- 
gions at  Chicago  in  1893,  undertook  the  work 
of  rendering  A9vaghosha's  monograph  into 
English  form.  I  watched  the  progress  of  his 
translation  and  m3^  interest  in  the  work  in- 
creased the  more  I  became  familiar  with  the 
thoughts  of  the  great  philosopher  of  Bud- 
dhism. Not  only  is  my  own  interpretation 
of  Buddhism,  as  stated  in  the  Gospel  of  Bud- 
dha and  elsewhere,  here  fully  justified,  but 
there  are  striking  similarities  between  the 
very  terms  of  A9vaghosha's  system  and  ex- 
pressions which  I  have  used  in  my  own  phil- 
osophical writings.  The  main  coincidence 
is  the  idea  of  Suchness,  which  is  pure  form, 
or  the  purely  formal  aspect  of  things,  deter- 
mining their  nature  according  to  mathemat- 
ical and  mechanical  laws.' 

'  This  coincidence  of  some  salient  points  need  of  course  not 
exclude  disagreements  in  other  important  matters. 


publisher's  preface.  V 

Suchness,  according  to  A9vaglioslia,  is  the 
cosmic  order  or  Gesetzmdssigkeit  of  the  world  ; 
it  is  the  sum  total  of  all  those  factors  which 
shape  the  universe  and  determine  the  desti- 
nies of  its  creatures.  It  is  the  norm  of  exist- 
ence and  is  compared  to  a  womb  in  which  all 
things  take  shape  and  from  which  they  are 
born.  It  is  Plato's  realm  of  ideas  and  Goethe's 
^^ Mothers"  of  the  second  part  of  Faust, 

Suchness  which  in  its  absolute  sense  means 
the  total  system  of  the  abstractly  formal  laws, 
including  the  moral  order  of  the  universe,  is 
contrasted  with  the  realm  of  Birth  and  Death. 
This  realm  of  Birth  and  Death,  is  the  material 
world  of  concrete  objects.  While  Suchness  is 
the  domain  of  the  universal,  the  realm  of  Birth 
and  Death  is  the  domain  of  the  particular; 
and  it  is  characteristic  of  the  Mahayana  school 
that  the  bodily,  the  particular,  the  concrete  is 
not  rejected  as  a  state  of  sin,  but  only  char- 
acterised as  impure  or  defiled,  imperfect,  and 
implicated  with  sorrow  and  pain,  on  account 
of  its  limitedness  and  the  illusions  which  na- 
turally attach  to  it. 

Suchness  and  the  realm  of  Birth  and  Death 


vi  publisher's  preface. 


are  not  two  Hostile  empires  but  two  names  of 
the  same  thing.  There  is  but  one  world  with 
two  aspects  describing  two  opposed  phases  of 
one  and  the  same  existence.  These  two  as- 
pects form  a  contrast,  not  a  contradiction. 
Suchness  (or  the  good  law,  the  normative  fac- 
tor) dominates  the  realm  of  Birth  and  Death, 
which  latter  therefore,  in  a  certain  sense,  be- 
longs to  Suchness  throughout  in  its  entirety 
as  well  as  in  its  details. 

But  sentient  beings  are  apt  to  overlook  the 
significance  of  the  universal,  for  the  senses 
depict  only  the  particular.  Thus  to  a  superfi- 
cial consideration  of  sensual  beings,  the  world 
presents  itself  as  a  conglomeration  of  isolated 
objects  and  beings,  and  the  unity  that  consists 
in  the  oneness  of  law  which  dominates  all,  is 
lost  sight  of.  It  is  the  mind  (or  spiritual  in- 
sight into  the  nature  of  things)  which  traces 
the  unity  of  being  and  learns  to  appreciate 
the  significance  of  the  universal. 

Universals,  i.  e.,  those  factors  which  con- 
stitute the  suchness  of  things  are  not  sub- 
stances, not  entities,  but  relations,  pure  forms, 
or  determinants,    i.  e.,    general   laws.     Thus 


publisher's  preface.  vii 

they  are  not  things,  but  ideas;  and  the  most 
important  one  among  them,  the  suchness  of 
man  or  his  soul,  is  not  a  concrete  self,  an  at- 
man,  but  '^name  and  form." 

It  is  well  known  what  an  important  role 
the  denial  of  the  existence  of  the  atman  plays 
in  the  Abhidharma,  and  we  need  not  repeat 
here  that  it  is  the  least  understood  and  most 
misrepresented  doctrine  of  Buddhism. 

Thus  the  essential  feature  of  existence,  of 
that  which  presents  itself  to  the  senses,  is  not 
the  material,  but  the  formal ;  not  that  which 
makes  it  concrete  and  particular,  but  that 
which  constitutes  its  nature  and  applies  gen- 
erally ;  not  that  which  happens  to  be  here,  so 
that  it  is  this,  but  that  which  makes  it  to  be 
thus;  not  its  Thisness,  but  its  Suchness. 

Particularity  is  not  denounced  as  evil,  but 
it  is  set  forth  as  limited ;  and  we  might  add 
(an  idea  which  is  not  expressed  in  the  Maha- 
yana,  but  implied)  that  the  universal  would 
be  unmeaning  if  it  were  not  realised  in  the 
particular.  Absolute  Suchness]  without  ref- 
erence to  the  world  of  concrete  Particularity 
is  like  a  Pratyekabuddha,  and  the  Pratyeka- 


viii  publisher's  preface. 

buddha,  a  sage  whose  wisdom  does  not  go  out 
into  the  world  to  seek  and  to  save,  is  regarded 
as  inferior  to  the  Bodhisattvas,  who  with  in- 
ferior knowledge  combine  a  greater  love  and 
do  practical  work  that  is  of  help  to  their 
fellow  beings. 

How  highly  Particularity  is  considered  ap- 
pears from  the  Mahayana  picture  in  which  it 
stands  contrasted  to  Universality  on  perfectly 
equal  terms.' 

The  world-process  starts  in  ignorance, 
perhaps  through  ignorance  or  at  least  through 
some  commotion  void  of  enlightenment,  but 
from  the  start  it  is  enveloped  by  the  good  law 
of  cosmic  order.  Suchness,  the  norm  of  being, 
guides  its  steps.  It  is  shaped  in  the  womb  of 
the  Tathagata  and  is  in  the  progress  of  evolu- 
tion more  and  more  tinged,  or,  as  Agvaghosha 
says,  perfumed,  with  the  cognition  of  Such- 
ness. Thus  life  will  necessarily  march  onward 
to  Buddhahood,  actualising  in  the  course  of 
its  development  the  eternal  in  the  transient, 
the  omnipresent  in  the  special,  the  universal 
in  the  concrete  and  particular,  and  unchange- 

^  See  the  frontispiece. 


publisher's  preface.  ix 

able  perfection  in  the  imperfect  haphazards  of 
the  kaleidoscopic  world  of  changes,  in  which 
things  originate  by  being  compounded,  and 
perish  according  to  the  law  that  all  compounds 
are  doomed  to  dissolution.  Hence  it  becomes 
apparent  that  the  realm  of  Birth  and  Death  is 
the  realisation  only  of  that  which  in  itself  is 
immortal ;  it  is  the  appearance  in  time  and 
space,  the  actualisation,  the  materialisation, 
the  incarnation,  of  that  which  is  everlasting 
and  permanent  in  the  absolute  sense.  Says 
Goethe : 

"  Alles  Vergangliche 
1st  nur  ein  Gleichniss, 
Das  Unzulangliche 
Hier  wird's  Ereigniss." 

The  reading  of  Agvaghosha's  treatise  may 
in  some  of  its  parts  present  difficulties,  and 
Western  thinkers  would  undoubtedly  express 
themselves  in  other  terms  than  this  thinker  of 
India  who  lived  almost  two  thousand  years 
ago ;  but  the  underlying  ideas  of  his  philos- 
ophy will  be  found  simple  enough,  if  the 
reader  will  take  the  trouble  patiently  to  con- 
sider the  significance  of  every  sentence  in  its 

relation  to  the  whole  system. 

Paul  Carus. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


THE  study  of  Buddhism  has  recently  made 
gigantic  strides,  on  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic as  well  as  on  the  other.  Not  only  is  the 
importance  of  the  science  of  comparative  re- 
ligion making  itself  felt,  but  the  advance  of 
our  Pali  and  Sanskrit  knowledge  has  greatly 
contributed  to  a  better  understanding  of  things 
Oriental.  Even  Christians  who  were  without 
sympathy  for  "heathen''  religions  have  now 
taken  up  the  study  of  Buddhism  in  earnest. 
Nevertheless,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  teach- 
ings of  Sakyamuni  are  not  yet  known  in  their 
full  significance  and  that  they  do  not  yet  com- 
mand just  appreciation.  Though  intolerant 
critics  lose  no  chance  of  vigorously  and  often 
wrongly  attacking  the  weak  points  of  Bud- 
dhism, which  are  naturally  seen  at  the  sur- 
face, clear-sighted  people  have  been  very  slow 
to  perceive  its  innermost  truth.  This  is  espe- 
cially the  case  with  the  Mahayana  school. 


translator's  preface.  xi 

The  main  reasons  for  tHis  are,  in  my  opin- 
ion, evident.  While  the  canonical  books  of 
the  Hinayana  Buddhism  have  been  systemat- 
ically preserved  in  the  Pali  language,  those  of 
the  Mahayana  Buddhism  are  scattered  pro- 
miscuously all  over  the  fields  and  valleys  of 
Asia  and  in  half  a  dozen  different  languages. 
Further,  while  most  of  the  Sanskrit  originals 
have  been  destroyed,  their  translations  in  Tib- 
etan, Mongolian,  and  Chinese  have  never  been 
thoroughly  studied.  And,  lastly,  the  Maha- 
yana system  is  so  intricate,  so  perplexingly 
abstruse,  that  scholars  not  accustomed  to  this 
form  of  thought  and  expression  are  entirely 
at  a  loss  to  find  their  way  through  it. 

Among  the  false  charges  which  have  been 
constantly  poured  upon  the  Mahayana  Bud- 
dhism, we  find  the  following:  Some  say,  ^'It 
is  a  nihilism,  denying  God,  the  soul,  the  world 
and  all";  some  say,  ^'It  is  a  polytheism: 
Avalokitegvara,  Tara,  Vajrapani,  Manjugri, 
Amitabha,  and  what  not,  are  all  worshipped 
by  its  followers"  ;  still  others  declare,  ''It  is 
nothing  but  sophistry,  quibbling,  hair-split- 
ting subtlety,  and  a  mocking  of  the  innermost 


xii  translator's  preface. 

yearnings  of  humanity  ' ' ;  while  those  who  at- 
tack it  from  the  historical  side  proclaim,  "It 
is  not  the  genuine  teaching  of  Buddha ;  it  is 
on  the  contrary  the  pure  invention  of  Nagar- 
juna,  who  devised  the  system  b3^  ingeniously 
mixing  up  his  negative  philosophy  with  the 
non-atman  theory  of  his  predecessor";  or, 
' '  The  ]\Iahayana  is  a  queer  mixture  of  the 
Indian  mythology  that  grew  most  freely  in 
the  Tantric  period,  with  a  degenerated  form  of 
the  noble  ethical  teachings  of  primitive  Bud- 
dhism." Though  no  one  who  is  familiar  with 
Mahayanistic  ideas  will  admit  these  one-sided 
and  superficial  judgments,  the  majority  of 
people  are  so  credulous  as  to  lend  their  ear  to 
these  falsified  reports  and  to  believe  them. 

The  present  English  translation  of  A9va- 
ghosha's  principal  work  is  therefore  dedicated 
to  the  Western  public  by  a  Buddhist  from 
Japan,  with  a  view  to  dispelling  the  denuncia- 
tions so  ungraciously  heaped  upon  the  Maha- 
yana  Buddhism.  The  name  of  A9vaghosha  is 
not  very  well  known  to  the  readers  of  this 
countr}^,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  the 
first  champion,  promulgator,  and  expounder 


translator's  preface.  xiii 

of  tliis  doctrine,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from 
all  our  available  historical  records.  Besides, 
in  this  book  almost  all  the  Mahayanistic 
thoughts,  as  distinguished  from  the  other  re- 
ligious systems  in  India,  are  traceable,  so  that 
we  can  take  it  as  the  representative  text  of 
this  school.  If  the  reader  will  carefully  and 
patiently  go  through  the  entire  book,  unmind- 
ful of  its  peculiar  terminology  and  occasional 
obscureness,  I  believe  he  will  be  amply  and 
satisfactorily  repaid  for  his  labor,  and  will  find 
that  the  underlying  ideas  are  quite  simple, 
showing  occasionally  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  Upanishad  philosophy  as  well  as  to  the 
Samkhya  system,  though  of  course  retaining 
its  own  independent  thought  throughout. 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  a  word  about  the 
difiiculty  of  translating  such  an  abstruse  re- 
ligio-philosophic  discourse  as  the  present  text. 
It  is  comparatively  easy  to  translate  works  of 
travels  or  of  historical  events  or  to  make 
abstracts  from  philosophical  works.  But  a 
translator  of  the  Mahayanistic  writings,  which 
are  full  of  specific  phraseology  and  highly  ab- 
struse speculations,  will  find  himself  like  a 


xiv  translator's  preface. 


wanderer  in  some  unknown  region,  not  know- 
ing how  to  obtain  any  communicable  means 
to  express  what  he  perceives  and  feels.  To 
reproduce  the  original  as  faithfully  as  possible 
and  at  the  same  time  to  make  it  intelligible 
enough  to  the  outside  reader,  who  has  perhaps 
never  come  in  contact  with  this  form  of 
thought,  the  translator  must  be  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  the  Mahayanistic  doctrine  as  it 
is  understood  in  the  East,  while  he  must  not 
be  lacking  in  adequate  knowledge  of  Western 
philosophy  and  mode  of  thinking.  The  pres- 
ent translator  has  done  his  best  to  make  the 
Mahayanistic  thoughts  of  A9vaghosha  as  clear 
and  intelligible  as  his  limited  knowledge  and 
lack  of  philosophic  training  allow  him.  He  is 
confident,  however,  that  he  has  interpreted  the 
Chinese  text  correctly.  In  spite  of  this,  some 
errors  may  have  crept  into  the  present  trans- 
lation, and  the  translator  will  gladly  avail 
himself  of  the  criticisms  of  the  Mahayana 
scholars  to  make  corrections  in  case  a  second 
edition  of  the  work  is  needed. 

Teitaro  Suzuki. 
La  Sallk,  III.,  May,  1900. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS: 

PAGE 

Introduction i 

Date,  2;  Nativity  and  Peregrination,  17;  Appellations,  20;  Conver- 
sion, 24;  Lists  of  Patriarchs,  32;  As  an  Artist,  34;  Works  in  Chi- 
nese Translations,  36;  Chinese  Translations  of  the  "  Discourse  on 
the  Awakening  of  Faith,"  38;  Outlines  of  the  "Discourse  on  the 
Awakening  of  Faith,"  41. 

Adoration  .     .  46 

Discourse 48 

L  Introductory,  49 ;  IL  General  Statement,  52;  IIL  The  Explana- 
tion, 55;   IV.  Practice  of  Faith,  127;  V.  Benefits,  146. 

Glossary 151 

Index 155 


NOTE. 

The  method  of  transliteration  for  Sanskrit  words  adopted  in 
the  present  book  is  one  used  in  Whitney's  Sanskrit  Grammar , 
but  from  lack  of  type  sh  has  been  substituted  for  s,  r  for  the 
vowel  r,  n  for  all  the  different  kinds  of  nasal  w's,  and  m,  for  rn. 
Further,  no  distinction  has  been  made  in  the  footnotes  between 
the  dentals  and  the  cerebrals  ;  c  and  (  are  also  often  used  indis- 
criminately there. 

As  to  the  method  of  transliteration  for  Chinese  words,  almost 
every  Sinologue  has  his  own ;  but  the  one  used  in  this  book  is  that 
of  Sir  T.  Wade,  which  I  think  has  been  adopted  more  generally 
than  others. 


INTRODUCTION. 

AgVAGHOSHA,  the  first  expounder  of  the  Maha- 
yanistic  doctrine  and  one  of  the  deepest  think- 
ers among  the  Buddhist  patriarchs,  is  known  to  most 
Western  Buddhist  scholars  simply  as  the  author  of 
the  Buddha- caritakdiiya,^  the  famous  poem  on  the  life 
of  Buddha.  The  accounts  of  his  life  and  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  his  philosophy  are  so  few  that  the  impor- 
tant influence  exercised  by  him  upon  the  development 
of  the  Mahayana  Buddhism  has  been  left  almost  en- 
tirely unnoticed.  That  he  was  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent leaders  among  earlier  Buddhists  ;  that  he  was  in 
some  way  or  other  connected  with  the  third  convoca- 
tion in  Kashmir,  probably  presided  over  by  the  Bhik- 
shu  Parcva;  that  he  had  a  wonderful  poetical  genius 
which  rendered  great  service  in  the  propagation  of 
Buddhism, — these  facts  sum  up  almost  all  the  knowl- 
edge possessed  by  scholars  about  A^vaghosha.  The 
reason  why  he  is  not  known  as  he  ought  to  be,  is  prin- 
cipally that  the  Sanskrit  sources  are  extremely  mica- 

1  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Vol.  XLIX.  Deal's  English 
translation  of  the  Chinese  translation  The  Fo  sho  hing  tsan  ki7ig, 
S.  B.  E.,  Vol.  XIX. 


2  AgVAGHOSHA's 

gre,  while  the  accounts  obtainable  from  Chinese  and 
Tibetan  traditions  are  confusing  and  full  of  legends. 
This  fact  has  led  Professor  Kern  to  say  that  Acva- 
ghosha  was  not  an  historical  man,  but  a  personifica- 
tion of  Kala,  a  form  of  (^iva.^  But  the  sources  from 
which  the  Professor  draws  his  conclusion  are  rather 
too  meagre  and  I  fear  are  not  worth  serious  consider- 
ation. In  the  following  pages  we  shall  see  by  what 
traditions  Acvaghosha's  life  is  known  to  the  Bud- 
dhists of  the  East. 

DATE. 

Let  us  first  decide  the  date,  which  varies  accord- 
ing to  different  authorities  from  three  hundred  to  six 
hundred  years  after  the  Parinirvana  of  Buddha. 

I.  The  Li  tai  san  pao  chi  {fas.,  i),^  quoting  the 
Record  of  the  Sarvastivadin  school,  says:  ''Acvagho- 
sha  Bodhisattva  was  born  a  Brahman  in  Eastern  In- 
dia some  three  hundred  years  after  the  Nirvana.  After 
he  abandoned  his  worldly  life,  he  refuted  all  the  doc- 
trines  held  by  the   tirthakas  (heathen),^  and  writing 

"^  Der  Ruddhistmis  und  seine  GeschicJtte  in  Indien,  author- 
ised German  translation,  Leipsic,  1884,  Vol.  II.,  p.  464. 

^Kf^^j^fi  Records  of  the  Triral}ia  Under  Successii'c 
Dynasties,  compiled  by  JPc  K:  ^-  Fe  Chang-fang,  A.  D.  597;  15 
fascictdi. 

^Tirthaka,  which  literally  means  "ascetics,"  was  first  ap- 
plied to  a  definite  sect,  viz.,  the  naked  ascetics  of  the  Jains,  but 
was  later  on  extended  to  all  dissenters  and  has  therefore  been 
translated  "heretics  or  heathen."  The  Chinese  translation  of  the 
term  literally  means  "[followers  of  J  a  doctrine  other  th.in  Bud' 
dhism." 


THE    AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  3 

the  Mahd-alainkdra-cdstra^  in  several  hundred  verses 
{ghdtds)  greatly  propagated  the  teachings  of  Bud- 
dha." 

2.  Hui-yuen^  states  in  his  commentary  {fas.  i)  on 
the  Mahd-prajnd-pdramitd-gdstra,^  on  the  authority  of 
Kumarajiva  %%^^{\  (A.  D.  339-413),  that  Acvagho- 
sha  flourished  about  three  hundred  and  seventy  3^ears 
after  the  Nirvana. 

3.  In  the  Life  of  Vasnband/m,^  Acvaghosha  is  men- 
tioned as  a  contemporary  of  Katyayana  who  is  said  in 
the  same  book  to  have  been  living  in  the  fifth  century 
after  the  Nirvana. 

4.  The  writer-^  of  the  preface  to  the  second  Chi- 
nese translation  of  the  Mahdydna-<^raddhotpdda-^dstra^ 
says  that  this  ^astra  ''is  the  deepest  of  the  Mahayana 
texts.  Five  hundred  years  after  the  Nirvana,  Acva- 
ghosha appeared  in  the  world.      He  was  numbered. 

^  Translated  into  Chinese  by  Kumarajiva,  circa  A.  D.  405.  15 
fas. 

2  S  5S  A.  D.  333-416.  The  leader  of  the  Pai  lien  she  (White 
Lotus  Society),  first  Sukhavati  sect  movement  in  China. 

^Treatise  on  the  Great  Wisdom- Perfection ,  by  Nagarjuna. 
A  Chinese  translation  by  Kumarajiva,  A.  D.  402-405.      xoo  fas. 

*  The  original  Sanskrit  author  is  unknown.  The  present  Chi- 
nese translation  is  by  Paramartha  who  came  to  China  from  Wes- 
tern India  A.  D.  546. 

^  The  writer's  name  is  not  mentioned  there,  nor  the  date  ;  but 
judging  from  the  knowledge  he  shows  in  treating  the  subject,  as 
we  shall  see  later,  he  must  have  been  living  either  at  the  time  of 
this  second  translation  or  immediately  after  it. 

^Discourse  on  the  Azuakening  of  Faith  in  the  Mahdydna, 
the  principal  work  of  Acvaghosha. 


4  AgVAGHOSHA^S 

among  the  four  suns  [of  Buddhists],  and  his  teach- 
ings stood  most  prominently  [among  the  doctrines 
prevailing]  in  the  five  countries  of  India." 

5.  Sang-yingi  states  in  his  preface  to  the  Chinese 
translation  of  the  Mahd-prajfid-pdra7?iiid'^dstra  that 
A9vaghosha  appeared  towards  the  end  of  the  period 
of  Orthodoxy,  i.  e.,  five  hundred  years  after  the  Nir- 
vana. 

6.  The  Fu  tsou  t'ung  chi'^  (Vol.  V.)  says  that  it  was 
the  fulfilment  of  the  Tathagata's  prophecy  that  six 
hundred  years  after  the  Nirvana  the  Dharma  was 
transmitted  to  AQvaghosha. 

7.  This  six  hundred  year  prophecy  is  adopted  as 
if  it  were  an  unquestionable  fact,  by  Fa-tsang,^  a 
learned  commentator  of  the  ^raddhotpdda(;dsira  (^Dis- 
course on  the  Awakening  of  Faith'). 

8.  Chih-k'ai  ^ff. ,  who  was  the  copyist  for  Para- 
martha  when  he  translated  the  ^raddhotpadacdstra^ 
also  adheres  to  the  six  hundred  year  tradition  in  his 
preface  to  the  book  just  mentioned,  saying  that  some 
six  hundred  years  after  the  Nirvana  of  the  Tathagata, 
many  devilish  heretical  leaders  clamorously  protested 
their  false  doctrines  against  the  good  law  of  Buddha, 

'f^@t  A.  D.  362  439.  One  of  the  four  famous  disciples  of 
Kumarajiva. 

-'f^ln3.^§E  A  history  of  Buddhism,  compiled  by  Chih-p'an 
7§^,  a  Chinese  priest,   during  the  latter  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century.      <=j\fas. 

'*  643-712.  A  most  prominent  leader  of  the  Avatamsaka  sect 
in  China. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  5 

when  a  ^ramana  of  very  high  virtue,  called  A9vagho- 
sha,  thoroughly  versed  in  the  philosophy  of  the  Maha- 
yana  Buddhism  and  highl}^  compassionate  for  those 
ignorant  people,  wrote  this  Discourse  (the  ^raddhot- 
pdda(;dstrd),  in  order  that  he  might  increase  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  Triratna,  etc.,  etc. 

9.  The  six  hundred  year  tradition  is  very  popular 
among  Chinese  and  Japanese  Buddhists.  The  Fa  tsu 
It  tai  tung  tsai^  (^fus.  5)  also  follows  it. 

10.  The  prophecy  above  referred  to  (see  No.  8), 
which  is  doubtless  a  later  invention,  appears  in  the 
Mahdmdyd  sutra^  i^f^s.  2)  as  follows: 

''After  the  death  of  Buddha,  Mahamaya  asked 
Ananda  if  Buddha  had  ever  told  him  in  his  life  any- 
thing concerning  the  future  of  Buddhism.  Respond- 
ing to  this,  Ananda  said:  'I  heard  one  time  Buddha 
say  this  with  regard  to  the  future  decline  of  Bud- 
dhism :  "After  the  Nirvana  Mahaka9yapa  with  Ananda 
will  compile  the  Dharma-pitaka,  and  when  it  is  settled 
Mahakacyapa  will  enter  into  a  Nirodha-samapatti  in 
the  Lang  chi  shan  [i.  e.,  Mount  of  Wolf's  Track,  Kuk- 
kurapadagiri],    and   Ananda    too    obtaining  the  fruit 


i^  ^  f^  ji^^  A  History  of  Buddha  and  the  Patriar-chs 
Through  Successive  Dynasties,  by  Nien  chang  ^  ft ,  A.  D.  1333. 
36/^5. 

2  The  Sutra  is  also  called  the  SUtra  on  Buddha's  Ascent  to 
the  Trayastrimsa  Heaveyi,  to  Teach  the  Dharma  to  His  Mother 
2  fas.    A  second  Chinese  translation  by  Shih  T'an-ching 


-S- 


■m:  .^ 


of  the  Ch'i  dynasty  ^  (A.  D.  479-502).     His  nationality  and  life 
both  are  unknown. 


6  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

of  enlightenment  will  in  turn  enter  into  Parinirvana, 
when  the  right  doctrine  will  be  transmitted  to  Upa- 
gupta  who  will  in  an  excellent  manner  teach  the  es- 
sence of  the  Dharma.  .  .  .  When  five  hundred  years 
are  passed  [after  Buddha's  death]  a  Bhikshu  named 
Pao-tien  [Ratnadeva?]  will  in  an  excellent  manner 
teach  the  essence  of  the  Dharma,  converting  twenty 
thousand  people  and  causing  all  sentient  beings  in 
the  eight  creations  to  awaken  the  Anuttarasamyak- 
sambodhicitta  [most-perfect-knowledge-mind].  The 
right  doctrine  will  then  go  to  decline.  When  six  hun- 
dred years  [after  Buddha's  death]  are  expired,  ninety 
different  schools  of  the  tirthakas  will  arise  and  pro- 
claiming false  doctrines,  each  will  struggle  against 
the  other  to  destro}^  the  law  of  Buddha.  Then  a 
Bhikshu,  Acvaghosha  by  name,  will  in  an  excellent 
manner  teach  the  essence  of  the  Dharma  and  defeat 
all  the  followers  of  the  tirthakas.  When  seven  hun- 
dred years  [after  Buddha's  death]  are  expired,  a 
Bhikshu,  Nagarjuna  by  name,  will  in  an  excellent 
manner  teach  the  essence  of  the  Dharma,  destroying 
the  banner  of  false  philosophy  and  lighting  the  torch 
of  the  right  doctrine."  '  " 

II.  Referring  to  the  statement  of  the  above  men- 
tioned Sutra,  Nagarjuna,  a  famous  Buddhist  philoso- 
pher who  wrote  a  commentary  on  A^vaghosha's  work, 
called  Q-addJiotpddacdstra,  claims  that  there  were  six 
A9vaghoshas  at  different  times,  to  fulfil  the  prophecy 
of    Buddha  and  that  the  author  of   the  book  on  which 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  7 

he  writes  a  commentary^  was  one  who  appeared  on 
earth  according  to  the  prophecy  in  the  MaJidvidyd 
stitra.  Nagarjuna  even  states  that  he  was  a  disciple 
of  Acvaghosha,  but  the  work  itself  is  regarded  as  spu- 

^  The  Sanskritised  title  is  the  M ahaycina-gdstra-vycikhy(i , 
trans,  into  Chinese  by  Pa-ti-mo-to  ^%^^^,  an  Indian  priest, 
A.  D.  401-402.     10  /os.     The  statements  in  full  run  as  follows: 

"In  all  there  were  six  A9vaghoshas,  owing  to  different  pre- 
dictions in  the  sCitras ;  each  of  them  appeared  to  fulfil  his  mission 
according  to  the  necessity  of  the  time,  and  there  is  no  contradic- 
tion in  them." 

The  author  then  proceeds  to  make  particular  references  to 
those  sutras : 

"When  we  examine  all  different  predictions  in  the  sfltras 
taught  by  Buddha  through  his  whole  life,  we  find  six  different 
[personages  all  called  A§vaghosha] .  What  are  those  six  ?  (i)  Ac- 
cording to  the  ik  ^  ^  a  ^  ^  Tai  cKhig  fien  fa  ch'i  chitig 
{Mahdyd7iap{t7'vadhar7nasMra?)  ^Q  have  the  following:  When 
the  peerless,  great,  enlightened,  honored  one  was  speaking  about 
his  intention  of  entering  into  Nirvana,  Acvaghosha  rising  from  the 
seat  knelt  down,  saluted  Buddha's  feet,  and  respectively  joining 
his  hands  together  turned  towards  Buddha,  the  world-honored 
one,  and  said  this  in  verse:  '  The  peerless  one  whose  heart  is  filled 
with  great  love  and  whose  immeasurable  virtues  have  been  accu- 
mulated through  aeons  which  are  like  a  boundless  ocean,  the  Bud- 
dha, only  on  account  of  love  and  compassion  for  all  sentient  be- 
ings, now  speaks  about  his  entering  into  Nirvana,  and  I  and  all 
the  other  members  of  the  Sarngha  feel  an  unspeakable  despair, 
utterly  confused  in  mind  and  spirit.  If  even  the  world-honored 
one,  full  of  great  love,  is  going  to  another  world,  leaving  his  own 
children  behind  him,  why  then  could  not  I  who  am  not  yet  full  of 
love  and  compassion  go  to  another  world  following  Buddha's  steps? 
Who  can  blame  me  ?'  When  finished  uttering  these  words,  A9va- 
ghosha  gazed  at  the  pupil  of  Buddha's  eye  and  gradually  passed 
out  of  life.  (2)  The  %^'$]  %  %  M,  Pien  'hiia  kung  te  ch'i 
chtng  {Vikriydpii}iyasiit7-a?)  says:  Then  the  Bhagavat  said  to 
A9vaghosha  :  '  Three  hundred  years  after  my  Nirvana  thou  shalt 
obtain  an  inspiration  from  me  and  with  various  methods  {updya) 


8  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

rious,  on  account  of  some  obvious  contradictions, 
though  the  followers  of  the  Mantra  sect  {Shingonshyu) 
insist  on  its  genuineness,  because  they  are  anxious  to 
have  an  ancient  authority  for  their  own  mystic  doc- 
trines, which  are  here  supported. 

benefit  and  make  happy  all  beings  in  coming  generations.  When 
thou  dost  not  have  any  inspiration  from  me,  thou  canst  not  do 
this  by  thyself.'  (3)  The  ^  M ^ H^  ^  $S  MaMmciydsMra  says 
as  follows:  'When  six  hundred  years  are  passed  after  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  Tathagata,  ninety-six  different  schools  of  the 
tirthakas  will  arise,  and  professing  false  doctrines,  each  will  strug- 
gle against  the  other  to  destroy  the  law  of  Buddha.  A  Bhik- 
shu  called  A9vaghosha,  however,  will  in  an  excellent  manner  pro- 
claim the  essence  of  the  Dharma  and  defeat  all  followers  of  the 
tirthakas.  (4)  In  the  ^^:=^B^^^S  Ch'a^ig  te  safi  mei  ch'i 
chitig  {S{ltra  ofi  the  SamUdlii  of  Eternal  Merit)  we  read  :  In  the 
eight  hundredth  year  after  the  Nirvana  there  will  be  a  wise  man, 
Ayvaghosha  by  name.  Among  the  followers  of  the  tirthakas  as 
well  as  those  of  Buddhism,  he  will  refute  all  those  who  cherish 
heretical  views  and  will  establish  the  Dharma  taught  by  Buddha. 

(5)  In  the  :^  >^  yW  ^  ^  M  Mo  ni  ch'ing  ching  ch'i  ching  {Mani- 
vimdlasiltra?)  is  said  thus:   About  one  hundred  years  after  the 
Nirvana  of  Buddha,  A9vaghosha  Mahasattva  will  appear  on  earth 
protect  the  right  doctrine  and  safely  hoist  the  banner  of  Buddhism. 

(6)  In  the  ^IH  i*^^S  Sheng  tuig  zua}tg  ch'i  ching  {Crimilr- 
dharAjasMra?)  is  said  thus:  On  the  seventeenth  day  after  the 
enlightenment  of   Buddha    there   was  a   tirthaka  called    i!!!)  M  If 

t%  P  ^  Chia-lo-no-chiu-shih-to  (Kalanakshita  ?),  who  transform- 
ing himself  into  the  figure  of  a  great  nagaraja  (i.  e.,  snake-king) 
with  86,000  heads  and  86,000  tongues,  simultaneously  proposed 
86,000  contradicting  questions  and  asked  the  Tathagata  [for  the 
solution] .  He  then  gave  him  a  triple  answer  explaining  all  those 
paradoxes.  The  n^gar^ja  then  proposed  tenfold  questions,  again 
asking  the  Tathagata  [for  their  solution] ,  to  which  he  gave  a  hun- 
dredfold answers  and  explained  their  paradoxes.  When  this  dia- 
logue came  to  an  end,  Buddha  said  to  the  nagaraja  :  'Very  good, 
very  good,  O  Ajvaghosha  (^ramana !  in  order  to  guard  the  castle 
of  the  Dharma,  thou  hast  assumed  this  form  of  destruction,  estab- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  9 

Deeply  absorbed  in  metaphysical  speculation,  the 
inhabitants  of  India  paid  very  little  attention  to  his- 
tory, and  whenever  we  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  date 
of  important  historical  figures  we  are  sure  to  find  our 
way  to  certainty  barred.  So  we  cannot  decide  which 
of  the  conflicting  traditions  above  enumerated  is  to 
be  considered  as  authentic.  When  taken  indepen- 
dently of  other  historical  events  which  are  connected 
with  them  and  whose  dates  have  been  already  fixed, 
they  have  no  value  whatever.  Besides  it  should  be 
observed,  the  chronology  of  Buddha,  to  which  every 
one  of  the  traditions  makes  reference,  is  as  yet  un- 
settled and  must  have  been  still  more  so  at  the  time 
when  those  traditions  were  current  in  India  as  well  as 
in  China.  If  they  differed  as  to  the  date  of  Buddha, 
they  might  have  maintained  the  same  date  for  Acva- 
ghosha ;  no  one  can  tell.  We  have  to  seek  a  light 
from  another  source. 

Another  group  of  traditions  centering  around  A9- 
vaghosha  is  his  connexion  with  a  most  powerful  king 
of  Yiieh  chih  ^  RPl,  who  established  his  extensive 
kingdom  in  Northwestern  India.  Who  was  this  king? 
In  the  ItKlim    Tsa  pao  tsang  ching  (^Samyuktaratiia- 


lishing  the  doctrine  of  Buddha.  Be  patient,  be  patient,  always 
discipline  thyself  in  this  way,  always  behave  thyself  in  this  way, 
do  not  go  round  in  a  small  circle,  but  make  a  universal  tour.'  The 
nagaraja  then  abandoning  his  assumed  beast-form  revealed  his 
own  real  character  and  approaching  the  peerless,  honored  one  and 
saluting  him  said  rejoicingly  in  verse,  etc.,  etc.  This  is  the  sixth 
A9vaghosha." 


lO  a^vaghosha's 

pitaka-szl/ra})'^,  fas.  7,  we  read:  *'A  king  of  Tukhara, 
Candana  Kanishtha'-^  (or  Kanita?  Chinese  fjff,^^  ioHJtirE 
chan-tan-chi-ni  ch^a)  had  a  close  friendship  with  three 
wise  men  :  the  first  one  was  a  Bodhisattva,  called 
Acvaghosha;  the  second,  a  minister  of  state  called 
Mo-cha-lo  (Mathara  or  Madara?);  the  third,  an  expe- 
rienced physician  called  Che-lo-chia  (Caraka).  With 
these  three  the  king  was  on  most  intimate  terms  and 
treated  them  with  the  utmost  cordiality,  permitting 
them  to  approach  his  person.  Acvaghosha  said  [one 
day]  to  him  that  if  he  [the  king]  would  follow  his  ad- 
vice, he  would  obtain  in  his  coming  life  everything 
that  was  good,  eternally  put  an  end  to  all  his  misfor- 
tunes and  forever  be  free  from  evil."  .  .  .^ 

^  Sutra  on  the  Casket  of  Miscellaneous  Jezvels.  The  original 
Sanskrit  author  is  unknown.  Translated  into  Chinese  by  Chi- 
chia-yeh  ("o  jifiS  ^  Kimkara  ?)  of  the  Western  country  and  T'an- 
yao  S^^  ,  A.  D.  472.  8  fas.  The  original  text  is  said  to  have 
existed  at  the  time  when  the  Cheng-yuati  Catalogue  .^  7C  ^v  was 
compiled  (A.  D.  785-804)  by  Yuan-chao  Hi  I^, ,  a  Buddhist  priest 
of  the  Tang  ^  dynasty  (A.  D.  618-907). 

^  Does  Kanishtha,  which  literally  means  "youngest,"  refer  to 
the  youngest  of  the  three  brothers  who  successively  governed  the 
Tukhara  district  of  India  ?  If  so,  there  is  no  question  about  the 
identity  of  him  and  King  Kanishka. 

^The  Fu  fa  tsang  ch'uan  {Transvtissioyi  of  the  Dharma- 
fitaka),  fas.  5,  also  seems  to  refer  to  the  same  tradition,  for  it  is 
stated  that  when  a  king  of  Tukhara  (probably  Kanishka)  was  very 
much  afflicted  on  account  of  his  having  committed  many  atrocious 
deeds  in  the  war  with  Parthia  (Eastern  Persia),  A§vaghosha  told 
him  that  if  he  would  follow  the  Dharma  with  a  sincere  heart,  his 
sin  would  gradually  be  attenuated ;  and  also  that  the  same  king 
had  a  physician  called  Caraka  "  who  thoroughly  understood  phar- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  I 

A9vaghosha's  relation  with  King  Candana  Kanish- 
tha  (or  Kanita?  Chinese  Chi-ni-ch*a)  is  told  also  in 
the  Fu  fa  tsang yin yiian  ch^uan,^  fas.  5  : 

''[At  that  time]  the  king  of  Tukhara  was  very 
powerful.  He  w^as  called  Candana  Kanishtha  [or 
Kanita?  Chinese  Chi-ni-ch'a].  Being  very  ambitious 
and  bold,  and  far  superior  in  courage  to  all  his  con- 
temporaries, every  country  he  invaded  was  sure  to  be 
trampled  down  under  his  feet.  So  when  he  advanced 
his  four  armies  towards  Pataliputra  [Hua  shih  ch'eng 
in  Chinese],  the  latter  was  doomed  to  defeat  in  spite 
of  some  desperate  engagements.  The  king  demanded 
an  indemnity  of  900,000,000  gold  pieces,  for  which 
the  defeated  king  offered  Acvaghosha,  the  Buddha- 
bowl  and  a  compassionate  fowl,  each  being  consid- 
ered worth  300,000,000  gold  pieces.  The  Bodhisattva 
Acvaghosha  had  intellectual  powers  inferior  to  none ; 
the  Buddha-bowl  having  been  carried  by  the  Tatha- 
gata  himself  is  full  of  merits ;  the  fowl  being  of  com- 
passionate nature,  would  not  drink  any  water  with 
worms  in  it, — thus  all  these  having  merits  enough  to 
keep  off  all   enemies,  they  are  on  that  account  worth 

macy,  and  who  was  clever,  learned,  intelligent,  elegant,  meek,  and 
compassionate,"  etc. 

^  a  ^iiW.^Wi%-  Accozints  Relating  to  the  Trayismissioii  of 
the  Dharmafitaka .  6  fas.  The  original  Sanskrit  author  is  un- 
known. The  third  Chinese  translation  now  existent  is  by  Chi- 
chia-yeh  (Kimkara  ?)  of  the  Western  country,  A.  D.  472.  The 
original  text  is  said  to  have  been  existing  when  the  Cheng  yi'uni 
Catalogue  (A.  D.  785-804)  was  compiled. 


12  a^vaghosha's 

900,000,000  gold  pieces.^  The  king  [of  Tukhara]  was 
greatly  pleased  at  receiving  them,  and  immediately 
withdrawing  his  army  from  the  land  went  back  to  his 
own  kingdom." 

We  have  the  same  legend  stated  in  a  brief  biogra- 
phy ^  of  Acvaghosha  as  follows  : 

"After  that  a  king  of  the  smaller  Yiieh  chih  coun- 
try [i.  e.,  Tukhara]  in  North  India  invaded  the  Mid- 
dle country  [i.  e.,  Magadha].  When  the  besieging 
had  continued  for  some  time,  the  king  of  Central  In- 
dia sent  a  message  [to  the  invader]  saying  :  "If  there 
be  anything  you  want,  I  will  supp)}'  it ;  do  not  disturb 
the  piece  of  my  people  by  thus  long  sta3'ing  here,'  to 
which  this  reply  was  given  :  'If  you  really  ask  a  sur- 
render, send  me  300,000,000  gold  pieces;  I  will  re- 
lease you.'  The  [besieged]  king  said:  'Even  this 
entire  kingdom  cannot  produce  100,000,000  gold 
pieces,  how  can  I  supply  you  with  300,000,000?'  The 
answer  was:  'There  are  in  your  countr}^  two  great 
treasures:    (1)   the   Buddha-bowl, ^   (2)   a    Bhikshu   of 

'  This  is  a  comical  feature  of  the  legend,  for  if  these  treasures 
could  ward  off  all  enemies  why  did  they  not  protect  the  unfortu- 
nate king  of  Pataliputra  against  Kanishtha  ? 

'^Life  of  Acvaghosha  %'^%^'^,\^,  translated  into  Chinese 
by  Kumarajiva.  Very  short.  The  author  is  unknown.  The  origi- 
nal Sanskrit  text  is  stated  in  the  Chaig  yiian  Catalogue  to  have 
been  existing  at  that  time  Cf.  Wassijew's  BuddJiisimis,  German 
edition,  p.  231  et  seq. 

^  Fa-hien  \^  %\  states  that  Kanishka  (which  is  transliterated 
by  him  into  Chinese  Chi-ni-chia  jfij  ^  i©  ,  corresponding  to  San- 
skrit Kanika)  as  if  a  different  person  from   the  king  of  Yiieh  chih 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  13 

wonderful  talent  (i.  e.,  A9vaghosha).  Give  them  to 
me,  they  are  worth  300,000,000  gold  pieces.'  The 
[besieged]  king  said  :  'Those  two  treasures  are  what 
I  most  revere,  I  cannot  give  them  up.'  Thereupon 
the  Bhikshu  said  to  the  king  in  explanation  of  the 
Dharma  : 

"  'AH  sentient  beings  are  everywhere  the  same, 
while  Buddhism,  deep  and  comprehensive,  aims  at 
universal  salvation,  and  the  highest  virtue  of  a  great 
man  consists  in  delivering  [all]  beings.  As  our  tem- 
poral administration  is  very  liable  to  meet  obstruc- 
tions, even  your  rule  does  not  extend  itself  outside  of 
this  one  kingdom.  If  you,  on  the  other  hand,  propose 
a  wide  propagation  of  Buddhism,  you  would  naturally 
be  a  Dharmaraja  over  the  four  oceans.  The  duty  of 
a  Bhikshu  is  to  save  [all]  the  people  and  not  to  give 
preference  to  one  or  the  other.  Merits  lie  in  our 
heart ;  truth  makes  no  distinction.  Pray,  be  far- 
sighted,  and  do  not  think  only  of  the  present.' 

"The  king  who  was  from  the  first  a  great  admirer 
of  him,  respectfully  followed  his  advice  and  delivered 
him  to  the  king  of  Yiieh  chih  who  returned  with  him 
to  his  own  kingdom." 

Comparing  all  these  traditions,  we  are  naturally 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  A9vaghosha,  who  was  num- 
bered as  one  of  the  four  suns^  of  Buddhism,  must  have 

who  invaded  Gandhara  to  get  the  Buddha-bowl.  Vide  Legge's 
translation  of  Fa-hien,  pp.  33  and  34. 

^  Hsiien-tsang's  ^  ^  ,  Records  of  Western  Cou?itries,  Beal's 
English  translation,  Vol.  II.,  p.  302. 


14  a^vaghosha's 

had  a  very  powerful  influence  over  the  spiritual  India 
of  the  time,  that  the  king  who  wished  to  have  him  as 
a  spiritual  adviser  must  have  been  a  very  devoted  Bud- 
dhist so  as  to  accept  a  Bhikshu  instead  of  an  enor- 
mous sum  of  money,  and  that  such  a  devoted  Buddhist 
king,  ruling  over  the  vast  domain  which  extended 
from  the  bank  of  the  Indus  towards  the  lower  Ganges, 
must  have  been  living  sometime  between  the  third 
and  sixth  century  after  the  Nirvana,  whatever  the 
authentic  date  of  Buddha  might  be.  The  next  con- 
clusion we  can  advance  therefore  will  be  the  identifi- 
cation of  this  king  who  is  called  Candana  Kanishtha 
or  Kanita  in  the  above  stories,  with  Kanishka,^  the 
originator  of  the  third  Buddhist  convocation  in  Kash- 
mir. 

As  to  the  difference  of  the  name,  we  have  to  sa}^ 
this.  While  Hsiien-tsang's  transliteration  for  Kanishka 
is  Chia-ni-she-chia  iisM^i^Ji  which  is  quite  an  approx- 
imate reproduction  of  the  original  sounds,  the  Chinese 
method  of  transliteration  before  his  time  by  the  so- 
called  ''old  translators"  was  rather  irregular,  loose 
and  therefore  often  misleading.  Add  to  this  the  liabil- 
ity to  error  on  the  part  of  local  dialects,  and  we  do  not 
improperly  identify  Chi-ni-ch'a,  with  Kanishka,  while 
the  former  may  be  Sanskritised  Kanishta  or  Kanita.- 

'  A.  D.  85-106,  according  to  M.  Muller. 

'-^  One  objection  to  identifying  Chi-ni-ch'a  ^ Pit  f'T.  (Kanishtha 
or  Kanita)  with  Kanishka  >^^  ^il'^  i40  is  a  single  Chinese  character 
appearing  in  the  MahiUarnkiiraicislra  {Book  of  Great  Glory),  the 
work  ascribed  to  A^vaghosha.     In  fas.  3  as  well  us  /as.  6  of  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH. 


15 


In  further  support  of  this  view,  we  quote  from  the 
Journal  of  the  Buddhist  Text  Society,  Vol.  I.,  Part  3, 
an  article  on  King  Kanishka,  taken  from  a  Tibetan 
source,  which  bears  a  more  historical  appearance  than 
the  legends  above  referred  to.      The  abstract  is  : 

**  Kanishka,  king  of  Palhava  and  Delhi, ^  was  born 
four  hundred  years  after  the  Nirvana.  When  he  learned 
that  Simha,  king  of  Kashmir,  abandoned  the  worldly 
life  to  become  a  Buddhist  priest  under  the  name  of 
Sudarcana  and  obtained  Arhatship,  he  went  to  Kash- 
mir and  heard  a  sermon  delivered  by  Sudarcana.^  At 
that  time  a  Mahayana  priest  who  held  a  most  prom- 
same  book  referring  to  Candana  Kanishtha  or  Kanita,  the  writer 
says  :  "  #:  ^  #  PD  iS^  M  rl  Bit  If£  Wo  hsi  cJvaiig  zve?i,  chaji-fan 
chi-7ii-chd  zvang,''  i.  e.,  "I  heard  of  old  that  King  Candana  Ka- 
nishtha," etc.  (in  fas.  6.,  chia-ni-ch'a),  etc.,  etc.  The  Chinese 
character  hsi  usually  means  "of  yore  "  or  "  in  olden  times,"  but  it 
also  signifies  the  past  indefinitely,  near  as  well  as  distant.  If  we 
thus  understand  the  term  in  the  sense  of  ' '  some  time  ago, "  or  simply 
"once,"  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  demonstrating  that  A^vagho- 
sha  was  an  elder  contemporary  of  Kanishka,  though  we  cannot  ap- 
parently accept  the  Chinese  tradition  which  says  they  were  inti- 
mately known  to  each  other.  Because  in  that  case  Afvaghosha 
would  not  refer  to  the  king  in  such  a  hearsay  manner  as  stated  in 
the  book  above  mentioned.  Taking  all  in  all,  this  does  not  prevent 
us  asserting  that  they  were  contemporaneous. 

^  Cf.  A.  Schiefner's  German  translation  of  Taranatha's  His 
tory  of  Buddhism,   p.   89:    "  Nachdem  Konig  (^ritschandra  die 
Herrschaft  ausgeiibt  hatte,   waren  viele  Jahre  vergangen,   als  im 
Westen  im  Lande  Tili  und  Malava  ein  an  Jahren  junger  Konig 
Kanika  in  die  Herrschaft  gewahlt  wurde." 

2  Taranatha's  statement  differs  from  this.  According  to  him 
Kanika  and  Kanishka  are  not  the  same  king,  the  former  being  that 
of  Tili  and  Malava,  while  the  latter  that  of  Jalamdhara.  Vide 
pp.  58  and  go.     Taran^tha  might  have  confused  them. 


i6  a^vaghosha's 

inent  position  in  northern  countries  was  called  A9va- 
ghosha.  His  influence  in  the  spiritual  world  was  as 
incomparable  as  the  temporal  power  of  Kanishka  who 
conquered  Kashmir  and  Jalamdhara.  The  king  sent 
a  message  to  A9vaghosha  to  come  to  his  kingdom, 
who,  however,  owing  to  his  old  age,  could  not  accept 
the  invitation,  but  sent  him  a  leading  disciple  of  his 
called  Jnanaya9a,  accompanied  with  a  letter  treating 
the  essential  points  of  Buddhism."^ 

Though  the  Tibetan  tradition  considerabl}'  differs 
in  many  respects  from  the  Chinese  accounts  above 
mentioned,  they  both  agree  in  this  point  that  A9va- 
ghosha  and  Kanishka  had  some  intercourse,  or  that  at 
least  they  were  contemporaneous  and  known  to  each 
other.  So  we  may  take  it  as  an  established  fact  that 
A9vaghosha,  the  author  of  the  iifc  ^  ^  It  Im  Mahdydna- 
^raddhotpdda-^dstra  {^Discourse  on  the  Awakening  of 
Faith  in  the  Mahdydna) ,  was  living  at  the  time  of  Ka- 
nishka.^ 

I  do  not  think  there  is  any  need  here  to  enumerate 
all  different  opinions  about  the  time  of  Kanishka, 
which  has  been  already  approximately  fixed  by  the 
untiring  investigation  of  European  scholars,  such  as 
Princep,   Lassen,    Cunningham,    Wilson,    Fergusson, 

^  Taranatha  also  states  this  event  [GeschicJitc  des  Budd/ns- 
tnus,  p.  92).  But  the  king  is  not  Kanishka,  but  Kanika  ;  and  the 
name  of  the  disciple  is  not  Jfianaya9a,  but  Dschnanakriya. 

^  A  further  corroboration  of  this  view  will  be  met  with  when 
we  treat  later  on  of  the  conversion  of  A9vnghosha  by  Paryva  or  his 
disciple  Punyayajas.  • 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 7 

Max  Miiller,  and  others. ^  So  long  as  our  present 
aim  is  to  assign  the  time  of  A9vaghosha  more  def- 
initely than  stating  vaguely  some  three  or  five  hundred 
years  after  the  Nirvana  of  Buddha,  suffice  it  to  say 
that  he  lived  at  the  time  extending  from  the  latter  half 
of  the  first  century  before  Christ  to  about  50  or  80 
A.  D.  If  we  fix  the  date  of  Buddha's  death  in  the  fifth 
century  before  Christ,  A9vaghosha  must  be  said  to 
have  lived  during  the  six  hundredth  year  after  the  Nir- 
vana. At  the  very  most  his  time  cannot  be  placed 
later  than  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era, 

I  have  spared  no  pains,  even  at  the  risk  of  tedious- 
ness,  in  gathering  all  the  information  obtainable  from 
Chinese  sources  relative  to  the  date  of  A9vaghosha, 
because  this  date  is  of  paramount  importance  when 
we  enter  into  the  discussion  of  the  development  of  the 
Mahayana  Buddhism,  which  is  commonly  and  erro- 
neously considered  to  be  the  sole  work  of  Nagarjuna. 

NATIVITY  AND  PEREGRINATIONS. 

There  is  not  so  much  discordance  in  the  traditions 
about  the  wanderings  of  A9vaghosha  as  about  his  date, 
though  indeed  we  do  not  have  as  yet  any  means  of 
ascertaining  his  birth-place,  other  than  the  statements 

1  Max  Miiller's  opinion,  as  stated  before,  is  that  Kanishka  lived 
A.  D.  85-106  ;  Lassen  thinks  the  Gondopharean  dynasty  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Kanishka,  king  of  the  Yiieh  chih,  about  one  hundred 
years  before  Christ  ;  Princep  places  his  reign  during  the  first  cen- 
tury A.  D. ;  Cunningham  thinks  his  consecration  was  58  A.  D. ; 
Fergusson,  79  A.  D.;  Rhys  Davids,  about  10  A.  D.,  etc. 


l8  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

of  discordant  authorities.  According  to  Taranatha,^ 
he  was  a  son  of  a  rich  Brahman  called  Samghaguhya 
who  married  the  tenth  and  youngest  daughter  of  a 
merchant  in  Khorta.  As  a  youth,  when  thoroughly 
familiar  with  every  department  of  knowledge,  he  went 
to  Odivi9a,  Gaura,  Tirahuti,  Kamarupa,  and  some 
other  places,  defeating  everywhere  his  Buddhist  oppo- 
nents by  his  ingenious  logic. 

All  these  places  are  situated  in  Eastern  India,  and 
among  the  Chinese  traditions  the  Recoj'd  of  the  Tri- 
ratfia  {Li  tat  san  pao  chi)  as  well  as  the  Accounts  of 
Buddha  and  the  Patriarchs  {Fo  tsu  tung  chi')  agree  with 
Taranatha  in  placing  Acvaghosha's  native  land  in  the 
East ;  but  the  Life  of  Vasubandhu  makes  A9vaghosha 
a  native  of  Bhashita  in  Qravasti,  while  in  Nagarjuna's 
^ox]i,  the MahdydnaQdstravydkhyd  Ml^M\tiW^  {Shih  ?no 
ho  yen  lun),  he  is  mentioned  as  having  been  born  in 
Western  India,  Loka  being  the  father  and  Ghona  the 
mother.  The  J^ecord  of  Buddha  and  the  Patriarchs  Un- 
der Successive  Dy?iasties  {^Fo  tsu  li  tai  t^ufig  tsai)  agrees 
with  neither  of  the  above  statements,  for  it  says  {fas- 
ciculi c^~):  ''The  twelfth  patriarch,  A9vaghosha  Maha- 
sattva  was  a  native  of  Varanasi."  A  further  contra- 
dicting tradition  is  pointed  out  by  Prof.  S.  Murakami 
in  one  of  his  articles  on  the  history  of  Buddhism,'-' 
quoting  the  Shittanzo  ^^|Jt  {f<^s.  i),  which  makes 
A9vaghosha  a  man  of  South  India. 

^  Geschichte  des  Buddhismus,  p.  90. 

'^The  Bukkyd  Shirin,   Vol.  I.,  No.  6.     1894.     Tokyo,  Japan. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 9 

A  majority  of  the  traditions  place  his  native  coun- 
try in  East  India ;  but  there  is  no  means  of  confirm- 
ing these.  One  thing,  however,  seems  to  be  certain, 
namely,  that  Acvaghosha  was  not  born  in  the  northern 
part  of  India,  which  place  is  supposed  by  most  West- 
ern Buddhist  scholars  to  be  the  cradle  of  the  Maha- 
yana  school. 

Wherever  the  native  country  of  Acvaghosha  may 
have  been,  both  the  Chinese  and  Tibetan  records  agree 
that  he  made  a  journey  to  Central  India,  or  Magadha. 
It  seems  that  every  intellectual  man  in  India,  the  peo- 
ple of  which,  living  in  affluence,  were  not  occupied 
with  the  cares  of  making  a  living,  sought  to  gain 
renown  by  dialectics  and  subtle  reasonings,  and  Afva- 
ghosha,  as  a  Brahman  whose  ''intellectual  acquire- 
ments were  wonderfully  deep,"  and  whose  "penetrat- 
ing insight  was  matchless,"^  could  not  resist  the 
temptation.  Not  satisfied  with  his  intellectual  cam- 
paign against  commonplace  Buddhists  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, who  were  crushed  down  as  ''rotten  wood  before 

a  raging  hurricane,  "^  he  went,  according  to  a  Chinese 
tradition,  to  Pataliputra,  and  according  to  the  Tibetan, 
to  Nalanda.  The  Life  of  Acvaghosha  evidentl}^  refers 
to  this  fact  w^hen  it  states  that  Parcva,  the  eleventh 
patriarch  and  eventual  teacher  of  Acvaghosha,  on  be- 
ing informed  of  the  paramount  influence  of  the  Brah- 

^  The  Transmissioyi  of  the  Dharmafiitaka  {Fu  fa  tsang 
ch'uan,fas.  5). 

^  The  same  as  above, 


20  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

man  tirthaka  (i.  e.,  A9vaghosha)  in  Central  India  and 
of  the  fact  that  his  conquest  over  Buddhists  had  si- 
lenced the  bell  (^ghanta)  in  some  monaster}^  (vthdra), 
journeyed  from  Northern  India  to  convert  the  bitterest 
opponent  into  a  faithful  follower  of  Buddha.  He  adds 
that  Acvaghosha  left  his  home  and  lived  henceforth  in 
Central  India.  But  according  to  the  Tra7ismission  of 
the  Dhari7iapitaka  {^Fu  fa  tsang  ch^uan,  fas.  5)  we  find 
A9vaghosha  even  after  his  conversion  still  in  Patali- 
putra,  from  which  he  was  taken  by  King  Kanishka  to 
the  latter's  own  capital,  Gandhara,  in  the  Northwest 
of  India. 

Thus  all  that  we  can  sa}^  about  the  birth-place  and 
wanderings  of  Agvaghosha  is:  (i)  he  was  a  Brahman 
by  birth  either  of  South,  or  of  West,  or  of  East,  but 
not  of  North  India  ;  (2)  he  acquired  in  Central  India 
his  highest  reputation  as  a  Brahman  disputant,  and, 
after  his  conversion,  as  the  greatest  Buddha  follower 
of  the  time,  intellectually  as  well  as  morally;  (3)  his 
later  life  was  spent  according  to  the  Chinese  authority 
in  the  North  where  he  wrote  probably  the  Mahdlam- 
kdra-sutracdstra  {Book  of  Great  Glory)  which  describes 
matters  mostly  relating  to  Western  India. 

APPELLATIONS. 

The  author  of  the  Mahdydna^raddhotpdda<;dstra 
(^Discourse  on  the  Aivakening  of  Faith  in  the  MaJidydnd) 
is  most  commonly  known  in  the  Chinese  Buddhist 
literature  by  the  name  of  Acvaghosha.    But  according 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  21 

to  his  Life  he  was  also  called  Kung-te-jih  ?0  ^  H  (i.  e., 
merit-sun;  in  Sanskrit,  Punyaditya?).  For  he  was 
not  only  a  philosopher,  but  a  preacher  and  an  organ- 
iser, for  ''while  in  North  India  he  widely  propagated 
the  doctrine  of  Buddha,  led  and  benefited  the  masses, 
and  through  good  and  excellent  [missionary]  methods 
perfected  the  merits  of  the  people."  The  Record  of 
Buddha  and  the  Patriarchs  {Fo  tsou  t^ung  tsai'),  where 
it  is  stated  that  his  other  name  was  Kung-chang  J^j  ^ 
(Punya9rika?),  can  be  said  almost  to  agree  with  the 
above.  While  thus  no  other  name  or  appellation  of 
his  is  known  in  China,  Taranatha  mentions  nine  more 
names:  Kala  (Time),  Durdarsha  (Hard-to-be-seen), 
Durdarshakala  (Hard- to -be -seen -time),  Matrceta 
(Mother-child),  Pitrceta  (Father-child),  Cura  (Hero), 
Dharmika-Subhuti  (Virtuous-mighty),  and  Maticitra 
(Intelligence-bright) .  ^ 

In  I-tsing's  Correspondence  from  the  South  Sea  (^Nan 
hai  chi  kuei  ch'uan,^  Chap.  32,  "On  chanting"),  the 
name  Matrceta  is  mentioned,  but  I-tsing  does  not 
identify  him  with  Acvaghosha,  though  the  legend 
attached  to  the  former  closely  resembles  that  of  the 
latter  told  in  Taranatha.  Taranatha  states  that  when 
Acvaghosha  became  a  sthavira  and  advocate  of  the 

^  Geschichte  des  Buddhismus,  p.  90. 

''-^%'-^W^%  by  I-tsing  W^  who  left  China  A.  D.  671  for 
a  pilgrimage  to  India  and  came  back  A.  D.  695.  The  book  is  a 
work  on  the  vinaya  as  observed  by  the  Sarvastivadin,  which  the 
pilgrim  witnessed  in  India  as  well  as  in  Ceylon.  An  English  trans- 
tion  by  J.  Takakusu,  London. 


22  AgVAGHOSHA's 

Tripitaka,  he  had  a  dream  one  night  in  which  the  ven- 
erable Tara  gave  him  the  instruction   to  write  hymns 
on  Buddha  for  the  expiation  of  his  former  sinful  deeds  ; 
that    according    to    this   admonition   he    wrote   many 
hymns  praising  the  virtues  of  Buddha,  amongst  which 
one  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  clokas  ^  is  the  best 
of  all ;  that   the  hymns   composed  by  him   are  full  of 
benediction   like  the  very  words  of  Buddha,  because 
he  was  predicted  by  the  Blessed  One  to  be  a  hymnist.^ 
Compare  the  above  with  this  from  I-tsing  : 
''The   venerable  Matrceta   (Mother-child)   was   a 
man  of  great  intellect,  of  excellent  virtue,  eminently 
standing  above  all   sages  in  India.      A  tradition  says 
that  when  Buddha  was   taking  a  walk   one  time  with 
his  kinsmen,  disciples,  and  many  other  people,  a  night- 
ingale (?),  observing  his  personal  feature  as  elegant 
and  majestic  as  a  gold  mountain,  uttered  in  the  wood 
some   pleasant,  harmonious  notes  that  sounded  like 
praising  the  virtues  of  Buddha.    Buddha  then  turning 
towards  the  disciples  said  :    '  The  bird  overcome  by 
the  joy  of  seeing  me  utters  a  pitiful  cr3^    By  this  merit 
it  will  after  m}'  death  obtain  a  human   form,  Matrceta 
^I^Pi^iin^  by  name,  and  praise  and  adore  my  intrinsic 
virtues  with  a  number  of  hymns.'     This  man  first  fol- 
lowed the  doctrine  of  a  tirthaka  worshipping  Mahe9- 

'  Schiefner  notes  :  ^atapantschd^atika  nama  stotra,   Tandjur 
B.  I,  unter  den  Stotra's. 

'^  Geschichte  des  Buddhismtts,  p.  91. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  23 

vara^  and  composed  many  hymns  to  adore  him.  But 
in  the  meantime  he  came  across  his  own  name  recorded 
[in  a  Buddhist  writing] ;  inspired  by  this,  he  took  re- 
fuge in  Buddha,  changed  his  garb,  abandoned  his 
laymanship,  and  in  many  ways  praised,  honored  and 
adored  Buddha.  Regretting  his  misbehavior  in  the 
past  and  desiring  to  perform  good  deeds  in  the  future 
and  also  lamenting  the  unfortunate  fate  that  prevented 
him  from  having  a  personal  interview  with  the  Great 
Teacher  rather  than  bowing  before  his  bequeathed 
image,  he  at  last  decided  with  all  his  rhetorical  talent 
and  in  solemn  fulfilment  of  the  Lord's  prophecy,  to 
praise  his  virtues  and  merits  [in  hymns].  He  first 
composed  four  hundred  clokas  and  then  one  hundred 
and  fifty  clokas  ;2  all  of  which  describe  the  six  Para- 
mitas  [Perfections]  and  state  the  excellent  virtues 
possessed  by  the  World-Honored-One,"  etc. 

At  the  end  of  the  same  Chapter  (i.  e..  Chap.  32) 
in  I-tsing's  Correspondence  he  refers  to  Acvaghosha  and 
Nagarjuna  both  of  whom  composed  some  beautiful 
and  popular  hymns  that  were  sung  by  Buddhists 
throughout  India  at  the  time  of  his  pilgrimage.  But  if 
the  Tibetan  statement  is  reliable,    I-tsing  may  have 

^  Cf .  the  following  statement  in  Taran^tha,  p.  90:  "  Als  er 
(Acvaghosha)  in  den  Mantra-  und  Tantra-Formeln  und  in  der  Dia- 
lektik  sehr  bewandert  wurde,  gab  ihm  Mahe9vara  selbst  Anlei- 
tung." 

2  "  Hymn  of  One  Hundred  and  Fifty  ^lokas"  ((Jatapanc^shad- 
buddhastotra),  translated  into  Chinese  by  I-tsing  during  his  stay  in 
the  Nalanda-vih^ra,  Central  India.  At  the  time  of  the  compilation 
of  the  Cheng  yilan  catalogue  the  original  is  said  to  have  existed. 


24  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

been  mistaken  in  recording  Acvaghosha  and  Matrceta 
as  different  characters.  The  Tibetan  and  Chinese 
version  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  cloka  hymn  being 
still  existent,  the  comparison  of  which,  however,  I 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  make,  will  furnish  an  in- 
teresting testimony  for  the  identification. 

Many  legendary  explanations  have  been  invented 
about  the  name  of  Acvaghosha,  as  might  be  expected 
of  the  imaginative  Indian  mind,  but  not  being  worth 
while  quoting  from  the  materials  at  my  command,  no 
reference  will  be  made  to  them  here. 

CONVERSIONS. 

A  consensus  of  traditions  both  Tibetan  and  Chinese 
maintains  that  Agvaghosha  was  in  his  earlier  life  a 
most  powerful  adherent  of  Brahmanism,  though  we 
are  tempted  to  discredit  it  on  the  ground  that  later 
Buddhist  writers  may  have  wished  to  exaggerate  the 
superiority  of  Buddhism  to  all  other  Indian  philosoph- 
ical and  religious  doctrines,  by  chronicling  the  con- 
version of  one  of  its  strongest  opponents  to  their  side. 
Whatever  the  origin  of  the  legend  may  be,  how  did 
his  conversion  take  place?  By  whom  was  he  con- 
verted ?  About  these  points  the  Tibetan  and  the 
Chinese  tradition  by  no  means  agree,  the  one  standing 
in  a  direct  contradiction  to  the  other.  While  the 
Tibetan  account  is  full  of  mystery  and  irrationality, 
the  Chinese  is  natural  enough  to  convince  us  of  its 
probable  occurrence. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  25 

According  to  Taranatha^  Aryadeva,  the  most  em- 
inent disciple  of  Nagarjuna,  defeated  and  proselyted 
Acvaghosha,^  not  by  his  usual  subtlety  in  dialectics, 
but  by  the  superiority  of  his  magical  arts.  Acvaghosha 
made  use  of  every  tantric  formula  he  could  command, 
in  order  to  free  himself  from  the  enchantment  in  which 
he  was  held  by  his  enemy,  but  all  to  no  purpose  what- 
ever. Thus  when  he  was  in  an  utterly  desperate  con- 
dition, he  happened  to  read  the  Buddhist  Sutra  which 
was  kept  in  his  place  of  confinement  and  in  which  he 
found  his  destiny  prophesied  by  Buddha,^  he  was 
seized  with  deep  regret  for  his  former  hostile  attitude 
toward  the  Dharma,  and  immediately  renouncing  his 
tirthakism,  professed  the  doctrine  of  ^akyamuni. 

The  Tibetan  tradition  presents  some  unmistakable 
indications  of  a  later  invention  :  the  use  of  tantric 
formulae,  the  so-called  prophecy  of  the  Tathagata,  and 
the  anachronism  of  Aryadeva.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Chinese  records  are  worth  crediting,  though  they 
are  not  unanimous  as  to  how  the  conversion  took 
place  and  who  was  the  proselytist. 

According  to  the  Life  of  Acvaghosha,  Pargva*  was 

1  Geschichte  des  Buddhismus,  German  translation  by  Schief- 
ner,  pp.  84-85. 

2  He  is  mentioned  there  by  the  name  of  DurdarshaMla. 

^  Cf .  this  with  the  accounts  of  Matrceta-Agvaghosha  told  in 
I-tsing. 

*  The  conversion  of  Agvaghosha  by  Pargva  as  here  stated  may 
be  considered  an  addition  to  the  proof  already  demonstrated  for 
the  contemporaneousness  of  Agvaghosha  and  King  Kanishka ;  for 


26  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

the  man  who  converted  him.  They  agreed  at  their 
first  meeting  that  on  the  seventh  day  thence  they 
should  have  the  king,  ministers,  cramanas,  tirthakas 
and  all  great  teachers  of  the  Dharma  gathered  in  the 
Vihara  and  have  their  discussion  there  before  all  those 
people.  '*In  the  sixth  night  the  sthavira  entered  into 
a  samadhi  and  meditated  on  what  he  had  to  do  [in 
the  morning].  When  the  seventh  day  dawned,  a  great 
crowd  was  gathered  like  clouds.  The  Sthavira  Parcva 
arrived  first  and  ascended  a  high  platform  with  an 
unusually  pleasant  countenance.  The  tirthaka  [i.  e., 
Acvaghosha]  came  later  and  took  a  seat  opposite 
him.  When  he  observed  the  cramana  with  a  pleasant 
countenance  and  in  good  spirits,  and  when  he  also 
observed  his  whole  attitude  showing  the  manner  of 
an  able  opponent,  he  thought:  'May  he  not  be  Bhik- 
shu  Chin?  His  mind  is  calm  and  pleasant,  and  be- 
sides he  bears  the  manner  of  an  able  antagonist.  We 
shall  indeed  have  an  excellent  discussion  to-day.' 

''They  then  proposed  the  question  how  the  de- 
feated one  should  be  punished.  The  tirthaka  [Acva- 
ghosha] said  :  'The  defeated  one  shall  have  his  tongue 
cutout.'  The  sthavira  replied  :  'No,  he  shall  become 
a  disciple  [of  the  winner]  as  the  acknowledgement  of 
defeat.'  The  tirthaka  then  replied:  'Let  it  be  so,' 
and    asked,  'Who  will   begin   the   discussion?'     The 

Pargva,  according  to  the  Tibetan  as  well  as  the  Chinese  authority, 
was  a  co-operator  at  least,  if  not  the  president,  of  the  third  Bud- 
dhist convocation  promoted  by  the  King  of  Kashmir. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  27 

Sthavira  Parcva  said:  'I  am  more  advanced  in  age; 
I  came  from  afar  for  the  purpose  [of  challenging  you]  ; 
and  moreover  I  was  here  this  morning  earlier  than 
you.  So  it  will  be  most  natural  for  me  to  speak  first.' 
The  tirthaka  said  :  'Let  it  be  so.  Following  the  sub- 
ject of  5^our  argument,  I  shall  completely  baffle  you.' 

''The  Sthavira  Parcva  then  said  :  'What  shall  we 
have  to  do,  in  order  to  keep  the  kingdom  in  perfect 
peace,  to  have  the  king  live  long,  to  let  the  people 
enjoy  abundance  and  prosperity,  all  free  from  evils 
and  catastrophies? '  The  tirthaka  was  silent,  not 
knowing  what  to  reply.  As  now  according  to  the  rule 
of  discussion  one  who  could  not  make  a  response  is 
defeated,  Acvaghosha  was  obliged  to  bow  [before  the 
opponent]  as  a  disciple  of  his.  He  had  his  head 
shaved,  was  converted  to  a  9ramana,  and  instructed 
in  the  perfection-precepts. 

"When  he  [Acvaghosha]  was  alone  in  his  room, 
he  was  absorbed  in  gloomy,  unpleasant  reflexion  as 
to  why  he,  possessing  a  bright  intellect  and  far-sighted 
discretion,  and  having  his  reputation  widely  spread 
all  over  the  world,  could  be  defeated  with  a  single 
question  and  be  made  a  disciple  of  another.  Pargva 
well  knew  his  mind  and  ordered  him  to  come  to  his 
room  where  the  master  manifested  himself  in  several 
supernatural  transformations.  Acvaghosha  now  fully 
recognised  that  his  master  was  not  a  man  of  ordinary 
type,  and  thus  feeling  happy  and  contented,  thought 
it  his  duty  to  become  one  of  his  disciples. 


28  AgVAGHOSHA's 

''The  master  told  him:  'Your  intellect  is  bright 
enough,  hard  to  find  its  equal;  but  it  wants  a  final 
touch.  If  you  study  the  doctrine  I  have  mastered, 
attend  to  my  capability  and  insight  into  the  Bodhi, 
and  if  you  become  thoroughl}^  versed  in  the  method 
of  discussion  and  clearly  understand  the  principle  of 
things,  there  will  be  no  one  who  can  match  you  in 
the  whole  world.' 

"The  master  returned  to  his  own  country  [North 
India];  the  disciple  remained  in  Central  India,  mak- 
ing an  extensive  study  of  the  Sutras,  seeking  a  clear 
comprehension  of  the  doctrine.  Buddhistic  as  well  as 
non-Buddhistic.  His  oratorical  genius  swept  every- 
thing before  him,  and  he  was  reverentially  honored 
by  the  four  classes  of  the  people,  including  the  king 
of  [Central]  India  who  treated  him  as  a  man  of  dis- 
tinction." 

According  to  the  Transmission  of  the  Dharniapitaka 
{^Fu  fa  tsang  chuan^,  however,  Acvaghosha  was  not 
converted  by  Parcva,  but  by  his  disciple  and  patri- 
archal successor,  Punyayacas.  Though  the  two  works, 
Life  of  A<;vaghosha  and  the  book  just  mentioned,  differ 
in  some  other  points,  they  are  evidently  two  different 
versions  of  the  one  original  legend.  As  the  book  is 
not  as  yet  accessible  to  English  readers,  I  here  pro- 
duce the  whole  matter  translated  from  the  Chinese 
version.      The  comparison  will  prove  interesting. 

"Full  of  a  proud  and  arrogant  spirit  that  speedily 
grew  like   a  wild  plant,   he  [Acvaghosha]  firmly  be- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  29 

lieved  in  the  existence  of  an  ego-entity  and  cherished 
the  ultra-egotistic  idea.  Being  informed  that  an 
Acarya  called  Punyaya9as,  who,  deep  in  knowledge 
and  wide  in  learning,  proclaimed  that  all  things  are 
relative  [^=(;u7iya,  lit.  empty],  there  is  no  dtman,  no 
tudgala;  Acvaghosha's  arrogant  spirit  asserted  itself, 
and  presenting  himself  to  Punyayacas  challenged 
him  saying:  'I  confute  all  [false]  opinions  and  doc- 
trines in  the  world,  as  hailstones  strike  tender  grass. 
If  my  declaration  prove  false  and  not  true,  I  will  have 
my  own  tongue  cut  out  in  acknowledgment  of  defeat.' 
Thereupon  Punyayacas  explained  to  him  that  Bud- 
dhism distinguishes  two  kinds  of  truth,  that  while 
'practical  truth'  hypothetically  admits  the  existence 
of  an  dtman,  there  is  nothing  conditional  in  'pure  [or 
absolute]  truth,'  all  being  calm  and  tranquil,  and  that 
therefore  we  cannot  prove  the  ego  as  an  absolute 
entity. 

"Acvaghosha  would  not  yet  surrender  himself, 
because  being  over-confident  of  his  own  intellectual 
power  he  considered  himself  to  have  gained  the  point. 
Punyayacas  said:  'Carefully  think  of  yourself;  tell 
not  a  lie.     We  will  see  which  of  us  has  really  won.' 

"Acvaghosha  meanwhile  came  to  think  that  while 
'practical  truth'  being  only  conditional  has  no  reality 
at  all,  'pure  truth'  is  calm  and  tranquil  in  its  nature, 
and  that  therefore  these  two  forms  of  truth  are  all 
unobtainable,  and  that  if  they  have  thus  no  actuality 


30  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

[or  existence],  how  could  they  be  refuted  [as  false]  ? 
So  feeling  now  the  superiority  of  his  opponent,  he 
tried  to  cut  out  his  tongue  in  acknowledgement  of  the 
defeat.  But  Punyayacas  stopped  him,  saying  :  'We 
teach  a  doctrine  of  love  and  compassion,  and  do  not 
demand  that  you  cut  out  your  tongue.  Have  your 
head  shaved  instead  and  be  my  disciple.'  Acvaghosha 
thus  converted  was  made  a  9ramana  b}^  Punyaya9as. 
"But  Acvaghosha  who  felt  extremely  ashamed  of 
his  [former]  self-assumption  was  thinking  of  attempt- 
ing his  own  life.  Punyaya9as,  however,  attaining 
arhatship,  entered  into  a  samadhi  and  divined  what 
was  going  on  in  the  mind  of  Acvaghosha.  He  ordered 
him  to  go  and  bring  some  books  out  of  the  library. 
A9vaghosha  said  to  the  Acarya :  'The  room  is  per- 
fectly dark;  how  can  I  get  in  there?'  To  this  Punya- 
ya9as  answered  :  'Just  go  in,  and  I  shall  let  you  have 
light.'  Then  the  Acarya  through  his  supernatural 
power  stretched  far  into  the  room  his  right  hand 
whose  five  fingers  each  radiating  with  light  illumi- 
nated everything  inside  of  the  walls.  A9vaghosha 
thought  it  a  mental  hallucination,  and  knowing  the 
fact  that  a  hallucination  as  a  rule  disappears  when 
one   is   conscious   of  it,  he  was   surprised   to  see  the 

'  The  reasoning  is  somewhat  unintelligible.  The  passages 
must  be  defective,  and  although  I  might  venture  to  supply  the 
necessary  words  to  make  them  more  logical  and  intelligible  to  the 
general  reader  who  is  not  acquainted  with  the  (ilnyata  philosophy. 
I  have  not  tried  to  do  so,  thinking  that  it  is  enough  here  if  we  see 
in  what  the  subject  of  the  discussion  consisted. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  3  I 

light  glowing  more  and  more.  He  tried  his  magical 
arts  to  extinguish  it  till  he  felt  utterly  exhausted,  for 
the  mysterious  light  suffered  no  change  whatever. 
Finally  coming  to  realise  that  it  was  the  work  of  no 
other  person  than  his  teacher,  his  spirit  was  filled 
with  remorse,  and  he  thenceforth  applied  himself  dil- 
igently to  religious  discipline  and  never  relapsed."^ 

Th.e  Record  of  Buddha  and  the  PatiHarchs  (^Fo  isou 
tung  tsai^  agrees  with  the  7rans7Jiission  of  the  Dharma- 
pitaka  {Fu  fa  isang  chuafi)  in  making  Punyayacas,  in- 
stead of  Par9va,  the  master  of  the  conversion.  But 
the  former  does  not  state  how  A9vaghosha  was  con- 
verted. 

Though  so  far  it  remains  an  open  question  who 
was  the  real  master  of  Acvaghosha,  we  can  be  sure  of 
this,  that  he  had  intimate  spiritual  communication 
with  both  Parcva  and  Punyayacas.  Par9va,  who  was 
an  older  contemporary  of  Punyayacas,  was  probably 
already  advanced  in  age  when  A9vaghosha  came  to 
be  personally  acquainted  with  him,  and  so  he  did  not 
have  time  enough  to  lead  the  young  promising  dis- 
ciple to  a  consummate  understanding  of  the  doctrine 
of  Buddha.  After  the  demise  of  this  venerable  old 
patriarch,  A9vaghosha  therefore  had  to  go  to  Punya- 
ya9as  for  a  further  study  of  his  religion,  till  he  was 
capable  of  forming  his  own  original  thoughts,  which 
are  set  forth  in  his  principal  work,  the  Discourse  of 

^  The  Transmission  of  the  Dharma^itaka  [Fu  fa  tsang 
€huan)fas.  5. 


32  AfVAGHOSHA'S 

the  Awakenitig  of  Faith  {^raddhotpdda-rastrd).  This 
assumption  is  justified  when  we  notice  that  Acvagho- 
sha  in  the  Book  of  Great  Glory  pays  his  homage  to 
Par9va  as  well  as  to  Pun3^a3'a9as. 

Now  by  way  of  a  supplementary  note  to  the  above, 
let  us  say  a  word  about  Wassiljew's  observation,! 
which  states  that  while  Hinayanists  or  (Jravakas  as- 
cribe the  conversion  of  Acvaghosha  to  Parcva,  the 
Mahayanistic  record  says  that  Aryadeva  converted 
him.  This  assertion  is  evidently  incorrect,  for  the 
Life  of  Acvaghosha  as  well  as  the  Transmission  of  the 
Dharmapitaka  {Fu  fa  tsang  chuaii)  in  which  the  honor 
of  his  conversion  is  given  to  the  successor  of  Parcva 
as  aforesaid,  do  not  certainly  belong  to  the  work  of 
the  Hinayana  school.  It  is  the  Tibetan  tradition  only, 
and  not  the  general  Mahayanist  statement,  that  Arya- 
deva converted  Acvaghosha,  and  there  is  no  ground 
at  all  for  the  assertion  of  Wassiljew,  which  practically 
leads  us  to  take  everything  Tibetan  for  Mahayanistic 
and  everything  Chinese  for  Hina^'anistic. 

LISTS  OF  PATRIARCHS. 

The  incorrectness  of  the  Tibetan  stor}',  as  to  the 
conversion  of  Acvaghosha  by  Aryadeva  above  referred 
to,  is  further  shown  by  a  list  of  the  Buddhist  patri- 
archs in  India  appearing  in  various  Buddhist  books 
either  translated  from  Sanskrit  into  Chinese  or  com 

^Buddhismiis,  German  edition,  p.  222,  and  also  see  Tdra- 
Hcitha,  translated  by  Schiefner,  p.  311. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH. 


33 


piled  in  China  from  sundry  sources.      In  every  one  of 
them  A9vaghosha  is  placed   after  Par9va  or  Punya- 


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«x 

o3                                        -1^     -J 

^        ^  ^        ^    a'B        J^l        fl^ 

-9    03    d-rtiS    o'O'O    vfd->    acuod 
J2d    ojo-v-.v-sd    rt    d    G«o!<oJo3 

<rt     o3<rt     a.i3-^<03     03     ^     >:.2     OS     =5     Srt 

«    d    osCuu,.--    rt    d    d    rt    d    o^o3<oi    OS-— 

M        M 

H 

-   vn 

^  He  was  a  native  of  Kapilavastu  and  came  to  China  A  D.  406. 
A  translator  of  many  Sanskrit  works.  His  list  belongs  to  the  Sar- 
vastiv^din,  though  it  is  a  little  different  from  the  succeeding  one. 
The  former  contains  fifty-four  and  the  latter  fifty-three  patriarchs. 
See  the  Ck'u  san  tsan^  chi  chi  tf{H75ifE^  by  ^  j^  (Nanjo's 
Catalogue,  No.  1476). 


34  AgVAGHOSHA's 

ya9as,  and  before  both  Nagarjuna  and  Aryadeva,  the 
most  brilliant  disciple  of  the  former.  The  list  on  the 
opposite  page,  therefore,  as  noticed  elsewhere,  will  fur- 
nish good  material  for  fixing  the  time  of  A9vaghosha. 
It  does  not  make  any  practical  difference  whether  he 
was  converted  by  Parcva  himself  or  his  immediate 
successor  and  disciple  Punyaya9as,  because  it  is  most 
probable  they  all  were  contemporaneous.  The  list 
generally  gives  twenty-three  or  twenty-eight  patri- 
archs beginning  with  Mahakacyapa,  but  not  deeming 
it  necessary  to  give  a  complete  list,  I  have  cut  it  short 
at  Deva. 

Chieh-sung^  refutes  in  his  Chuan  fa  chang  tsung  lun 
%-^^^%^  {^A  Treatise  on  the  Right  Transmissiofi  of 
the  Dhaj'ina')  the  authority  of  the  T7'a7ismissio?i  of  the 
Dharmapitaka  {^Fu  fa  tsang  chua7i),  but  he  agrees  with 
it  down  to  the  seventeenth  patriarch.  The  principal 
point  of  his  refutation  is  simply  that  Bodhidharma, 
the  founder  of  the  Chinese  Dhyana  school,  should  be 
included  in  the  list. 

AS  AN  ARTIST. 
We    cannot    conclude    the    accounts    concerning 
A9vaghosha  without   mentioning  an  anecdote  from  a 
Chinese  source.^    The  ^raddhotpcida<;dstra  (^The Awak- 

^  ^  ^,  3i  priest  of  the  Dhyana  school  who  died  A.  D.  1071  or 
1072.  He  wrote  among  other  works  one  on  the  fundamental  iden- 
ticalness  of  Confucianism  and  Buddhism. 

^  The  Vrafismissiofi  of  tlie  DJiarmapitaha  (/•>/  fa  Isaiig 
chuan,  fas.  5). 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  35 

ening  of  Faith,')  proves  he  was  a  philosopher  of  a  high 
grade;  the  Buddhacaritakdvya  {The  Life  of  Buddha) 
and  the  Mahdlamkdragdsira  {The  Book  of  Great  Glory) 
reveal  his  poetical  genius;  and  the  following  story  in- 
dicates that  he  was  a  musician  :  ^ 

**He  [A9vaghosha]  then  went  to  Pataliputra  for 
his  propaganda-tour,  where  he  composed  an  excellent 
tune  called  Lai  cha  huo  lo  {^^^%%  Rdstavara?), 
that  he  might  by  this  means  convert  the  people  of  the 
city.  Its  melody  was  classical,  mournful,  and  melodi- 
ous, inducing  the  audience  to  ponder  on  the  misery, 
emptiness,  and  non-atman-ness  of  life.  That  is  to  say, 
the  music  roused  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer  the  thought 
that  all  aggregates  are  visionary  and  subject  to  trans- 
formation ;  that  the  triple  world  is  a  jail  and  a  bond- 
age, with  nothing  enjoyable  in  it ;  that  since  royalty, 
nobility,  and  the  exercise  of  supreme  power,  are  all 
characterised  with  transitoriness,  nothing  can  prevent 
their  decline,  which  will  be  as  sure  as  the  dispersion 
of  the  clouds  in  the  sky;  that  this  corporeal  existence 
is  a  sham,  is  as  hollow  as  a  plantain  tree,  is  an  enemy, 
a  foe,  one  not  to  be  intimately  related  with  ;  and  again 
that  like  a  box  in  which  a  cobra  is  kept,  it  should 

^  The  fact  agrees  well  with  Tdranatha's  statement  which  in  its 
German  translation  reads  as  follows:  "Die  von  ihm  verfassten 
Loblieder  sind  auch  in  alien  Landern  verbreitet ;  da  zuletzt  San- 
ger und  Possenreisser  dieselben  vortrugen  und  bei  alien  Menschen 
des  Landes  mit  Macht  Glauben  an  den  Buddha  entstand,  erwuchs 
durch  die  Loblieder  grosserer  Nutzen  zur  Verbreitung  der  Lehre." 
Geschichte  des  Buddhismiis,  German  translation,  p.  91. 


36  Ag:VAGHOSHA'S 

never  be  cherished  by  anybody;  that  therefore  all 
Buddhas  denounce  persons  clinging  to  a  corporeal 
existence.  Thus  explaining  in  detail  the  doctrine  of 
the  none-atman  and  the  (;tinyatd,  A9vaghosha  had  the 
melody  played  by  musicians,  who,  however,  not  being 
able  to  grasp  the  significance  of  the  piece,  failed  to 
produce  the  intended  tune  and  harmony.  He  then 
donned  a  white  woolen  dress,  joined  the  band  of  musi- 
cians, beating  the  drum,  ringing  the  bell,  and  tuning 
the  lyre,  and  this  done,  the  melody  in  full  perfection 
gave  a  note  at  once  mournful  and  soothing,  so  as  to 
arouse  in  the  mind  of  the  audience  the  idea  of  the 
misery,  emptiness,  and  non-atman-ness  of  all  things. 
The  five  hundred  royal  princes  in  the  city  thus  moved 
all  at  once  were  fully  awakened,  and  abhorring  the 
curse  of  the  five  evil  passions  abandoned  their  worldly 
life  and  took  refuge  in  the  Bodhi.  The  king  of  Patali- 
putra  was  very  much  terrified  by  the  event,  thinking 
that  if  the  people  who  listen  to  this  music  would 
abandon  their  homes  [like  the  princes],  his  country 
would  be  depopulated  and  his  royal  business  ruined. 
So  he  warned  the  people  never  to  play  this  music 
hereafter. 

WORKS  IN  CHINESE  TRANSLATIONS. 

The  works  ascribed  to  A9vaghosha  and  still  exist- 
ing in  Chinese  translations  are  eight  in  number.  They 
are  :  ( i )  The  :^  ft  ^  f||^  Tai  sheng  ch '/  hsin  lun  {Mahd- 
ydna^raddhotpctdardstra) :  discourse  on  the  awake?itng  of 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  37 

faith  in  the  Mahdydna.  It  is  the  principal  work  of 
A9vaghosha,  and  through  this  we  are  able  to  recognise 
what  an  important  position  he  occupies  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Mahayanistic  world-conception  and  the- 
ory of  final  emancipation.  Its  outlines  and  the  ac- 
counts of  its  Chinese  translation  will  be  given  below. 
(2)  The  }:.^''^i%'^%  '^%  Ta  sung  ti  hsiian  wen  pen  lim, 
a  fundamental  treatise  on  the  spiritual  stages  fo7'  reaching 
final  deliverance.  The  book  has  a  decided  tendency  to 
mysticism,  explaining  a  gradual  development  of  reli- 
gious consciousness  through  fifty-one  different  spir- 
itual stages.  It  may  be  considered  a  precursory  work 
out  of  which  Vajrabodhi's  Mantrism  finally  made  a 
full  manifestation.  It  was  translated  by  Paramartha 
between  A.  D.  557-569.  Tv^enty  fasciculi,  forty  chap- 
ters. (3)  The  :;^  j}£  J^  ImT  i^  Ta  chuang  yen  lun  ching 
(^Mahdlafukdrastitra^dstrd),  the  Book  of  Great  Glory,  or 
a  compilation  of  stories  illustrating  the  retribution  of 
karma.  The  stories  relate  mostly  to  the  events  that 
occurred  in  Western  India.  Beal  translated  some  of 
them  in  his  Buddhist  Literature  in  Chifia.  The  Chinese 
translator  is  Kumarajiva,  circa  A.  D.  405.  Fifteen 
fasciculi.  (4)  The  f^^Jrff '^  B'o  shu  hing  tsan  {^Buddha- 
caritakdvya^,  a  well  known  poem  on  the  life  of  Buddha. 
The  Chinese  translation  is  by  Dharmaraksha  between 
A.  D.  414-421.  ¥\we  fasciculi,  twenty  eight  chapters, 
Real's  English  translation  forms  Vol.  XIX.  of  The 
Sacred  Books  of  the  East;  and  Cowell's  translation  from 
Sanskrit,  Vol.  XLIX  of  the  same.     (5)   The  ^fg-? 


38  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

pp^  |ffi  ^  H  IS  Ni  kan  tzii  wen  wu  wii  i  ching,  a  suira  on 
a  Nirgranthd' s  asking  about  the  theory  of  non-ego.  The 
book  foreshadows  the  Madhyamika  philosophy  of 
Nagarjuna,  for  the  two  forms  of  truth  are  distinguished 
there,  Pure  Truth  {Par7ndrtha-satya^  and  Practical 
Truth  {Samvrtti-satyd)}  and  the  funyatd  theory  also  is 
proclaimed.  (6)  The  'Y^^-  ^?M'  ir^  Shih pu shan yeh tao 
ching,  a  stitra  on  the  ten  no-good  deeds.  (7)  The  ^filjifi  iE 
"h  4lH  Shih  shih  fa  wu  shih  sung,  fifty  verses  on  the  rules 
of  serving  a  master  or  teacher.  (8)  The  T^^flJi^S 
Lu^  tao  lun  ^hui  ching,  a  sUtra  on  tra^ismigration  through 
the  six  states  of  existence.  These  last  four  works  are 
very  short,  all  translated  by  Jih-ch'eng  (Divaya9as?), 
between  A.  D.  1004-1058. 


CHINESE    TRANSLATIONS    OF    THE    "DISCOURSE   ON 
THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH." 

Let  us  give  here  some  remarks  on  the  Chinese 
translations  of  Acvaghosha's  principal  and  best  known 
work  The  Awakeni7ig  of  Faith.  The  Sanskrit  original 
is  long  lost,  probably  owing  to  the  repeated  persecu- 
tions of  Buddhism  by  Chinese  emperors  at  different 
times.  According  to  the  Cheng yii an  catalogue  ^%^ 
(compiled  between  A.  D.  785-804)  the  Sanskrit  text 
is  said  to  have  existed  at  that  time.  It  is  a  great  pity 
that  such  an  important  Buddhist  philosophical  work 

^  Notice  Ajvaghosha's  discussion  with  Punyayajas  as  above 
mentioned. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  39 

as  the  present  9astra  can  be  studied  only  through 
translations. 1 

There  are  two  Chinese  translations  still  existing 
in  the  Tripitaka  collection.  The  first  translation  was 
made  by  Paramartha  (;^.||^Pti)'  otherwise  called 
Kulanatha  (^,^r5f)\^'b),  of  Ujjayana  (or  Ujjayini,  mod- 
ern Oujein)  in  Western  India.  He  came  to  China 
A.  D.  546  and  died  A.  D.  569  when  he  was  71  years 
old.  Among  many  other  translations,  the  present  one 
came  from  his  pen  on  the  tenth  day  of  September, 
A.  D.  554. 

The  second  one  is  by  Qikshananda  (^fi^PPlS),  of 
Kusutana  (Khoten),  who  began  his  work  on  the  eighth 
of  October,  A.  D.  700.  He  died  in  China  A.  D.  710 
at  the  age  of  59. 

As  to  the  problem  whether  the  original  of  the  two 
Chinese  translations  is  the  same  or  different,  my  im- 
pression is  that  they  were  not  the  same  text,  the  one 
having  been  brought  from  Ujjayana  and  the  other  from 
Khoten.  But  the  difference,  as  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  the  comparison  of  the  two  versions,  is  not  funda- 
mental. 

In  the  preface  to  the  second  translation  of  the  Kao 

^An  inquiry  has  been  made  by  the  present  English  translator 
as  to  whether  the  original  Sanskrit  copy  could  be  found  either  in 
India  or  in  Nepal ;  but  Prof.  Satis  Chandra  Acharyya,  of  the  Bud- 
dhist Text  Society,  Calcutta,  with  whom  he  has  been  communicat- 
ing on  the  subject,  informs  him  that  as  far  as  India  is  concerned 
there  is  almost  no  hope  of  securing  it,  and  also  that  his  friend  in 
Nepal  has  been  unable  so  far  to  discover  the  original. 


40  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

li  edition,  the  unknown  writer  states  to  the  following 
effect:  ''The  present  Qastra  has  two  translations.  The 
first  one  is  by  Paramartha  and  the  second  one  is  from 
the  Sanskrit  text  brought  by  ^ikshananda  who  found 
also  the  older  Sanskrit  original  in  the  Tz'u  an  tower. 
As  soon  as  he  had  finished  the  rendering  of  the  Ava- 
tamsakasutra  into  Chinese,  he  began  a  translation  of 
his  own  text  with  the  assistance  of  several  native  Bud- 
dhist priests.  The  new  translation  occasionally  de- 
viates from  the  older  one,  partly  because  each  trans- 
lator had  his  own  views  and  partly  because  the  texts 
themselves  were  not  the  same." 

Though  the  Cheng  yiian  ^  TC  ^  as  well  as  the  K^ai 
yuan'^^-jt^K  catalogue  affirm  that  the  two  transla- 
tions were  from  the  same  text,  this  can  only  mean  that 
they  were  not  radically  divergent.  For  if  any  two 
editions  differ  so  slightly  as  not  to  affect  the  essential 
points,  they  can  be  said  to  be  practically  the  same  text. 

Which  of  the  two  translations  then  is  the  more 
correct?  To  this  question  we  cannot  give  any  definite 
answer  as  the  originals  are  missing.  The  first  trans- 
lation has  found  a  more  popular  acceptance  in  Japan 
as  well  as  in  China,  not  because  it  is  more  faithful  to 
the  original,  but  because  a  most  learned  and  illus- 
trious Buddhist  scholar  called  Fa  tsang  i£  ^  (A.  D. 


'  A  catalogue  of  Buddhist  books  collected  in  the  K'ai  yiian 
period  (A.  D.  713-741)  of  the  Tung  Dynasty,  by  5^  v^  Chih-shang, 
A.  D.  730.  Its  full  name  K'ai  yiian  shih  chi'ao  hi.  Twenty  yVrx- 
ciculi. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  4I 

643-712)  wrote  a  commentary  on  it.  And  on  that 
account  the  commentary  is  more  studied  than  the 
text  itself.  Fa  tsang  assisted  (Jikshananda  in  prepar- 
ing the  second  translation,  but  he  preferred  the  first 
one  for  his  commentary  work,  partly  because  the  first 
one  had  already  found  a  wide  circulation  and  some 
commentators  before  his  time,  and  partly  because 
both  translations  agreeing  in  all  their  important 
points,  he  did  not  like  to  show  his  ''partiality,"  as  a 
commentator  on  Fa  tsang  says,  to  the  one  in  the 
preparation  of  which  he  himself  took  part. 

The  present  English  translation  is  made  from  the 
second  Chinese  version  by  Qikshananda,  but  the  first 
version  has  been  carefully  compared  with  it,  and 
wherever  disagreements  occur  between  them  they 
have  been  noticed  in  footnotes. 

OUTLINES  OF  THE  "DISCOURSE  ON  THE  AWAKENING 

OF  FAITH." 

I  cannot  help  saying  a  few  words  here  about  the 
importance  of  A9vaghosha's  main  work  which  is 
scarcely  known  in  the  West,  and  if  so,  wrongly.  Even 
Samuel  Beal  who  is  considered  one  of  the  best  author- 
ities on  Chinese  Buddhism,  makes  a  misleading  refer- 
ence to  our  author  in  his  Buddhism  i?i  China.  The 
following  quotation  from  the  same  apparently  shows 
that  at  least  when  he  wrote  it,  in  1884,  he  had  a  very 
insufficient  knowledge  of  the  subject.  He  says  (page 
138): 


42  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

''His  (A9vaghosha's)  writings  still  survive  in  a 
Chinese  form,  and  when  examined  will  probably  be 
found  to  be  much  tinged  by  a  pseudo-Christian  ele- 
ment. .  .  .  But  there  is  one  book,  the  KH-sin-lun,  or 
'Treatise  for  Awakening  Faith,'  which  has  never  yet 
been  properly  examined,  but,  so  far  as  is  known,  is 
based  on  doctrines  foreign  to  Buddhism  and  allied  to 
a  perverted  form  of  Christian  dogma. '*  The  incorrect- 
ness of  this  statement  will  readily  be  seen  by  the 
reader  when  we  proceed  further  on. 

Wassiljew,  another  of  the  highest  Western  author- 
ities on  the  subject,  seems  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of 
the  existence  of  the  present  work.  It  is  very  strange 
that  those  who  are  considered  to  be  quite  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  development  of  the  Mahayanistic 
thought,  do  not  place  in  the  right  light  a  prominent, 
if  not  the  principal,  actor,  who,  so  far  as  is  known  to 
us,  practically  initiated  this  great  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual movement  in  India.  Wassiljew  says  in  his 
Buddhisimis  (pp.  83-84): 

"Zu  welcher  besonderen  Schule  A9vaghosha  ge- 
horte,  wird  nicht  mit  Bestimmtheit  iiberliefert :  aus 
der  Legende,  nach  welcher  er  sich  bei  der  Abfassung 
der  Vibhasha  betheiligte,  diirfen  wir  jedoch  den 
Schluss  Ziehen,  dass  er  zu  den  Reprasentanten  der 
Vaibhaschika's  gerechnet  ward." 

It  is  true  that  in  the  Life  of  Vasiibandhu  A9vagho- 
sha  is  said  to  have  taken  part  in  the  compilation  of 
the  Vibhasha,  but  it  is  of  no  account  whatever  in  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  43 

face  of  the  present  book  in  which  we  can  clearly  trace 
almost  all  elements  of  the  thought  fully  developed 
afterwards  by  Nagarjuna  and  other  later  Mahayana 
representatives. 

•  I  wish  here,  in  order  to  show  the  significance  of 
A9vaghosha,  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the 
three  most  salient  points  in  his  doctrine  which  will 
distinguish  him  from  all  Hinayana  schools.  The  three 
points  constituting  the  gist  of  this  ^astra  then  are: 
(i)  the  conception  of  suchness  {Bhzitatathaid)\  (2)  the 
theory  of  the  triple  personality;  (3)  the  salvation  by 
faith  or  the  Sukhavati  doctrine. 

The  conception  of  suchness  assumes  other  names, 
namely,  The  Womb  of  the  Tathagata  {Thatdgaia- 
garbha)j  when  considered  from  its  embracing  all  pos- 
sible  merits,  and  the  All-Conserving  Mind  i^Aiaya- 
vijndna),  when  it  becomes  the  principle  of  evolution 
and  is  said  to  have  developed  from  the  teaching  of 
Buddha  as  expounded  in  the  old  canonical  sutras, 
such  as  the  Lankdvatara  and  the  Qrimdld.  Whatever 
the  origin  of  the  idea  of  suchness  might  have  been, 
its  "absolute  aspect"  evidently  foreshadows  the  ^un- 
yatd  philosophy  of  the  Madhyamika  school.  It  is 
very  doubtful  whether  Nagarjuna,  as  told  in  a  Chinese 
tradition,  was  a  personal  disciple  of  A9vaghosha,  but 
it  is  highly  probable  that  he  was  much  influenced  by 
him  in  forming  his  system. 

The  second  thesis,  the  theory  of  the  triple  person- 
ality, that  is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  characteris- 


44  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

tics  of  the  Mahayana  Buddhism,  seems  to  have  been 
first  established  b}'  A9vaghosha.  The  pantheistic  idea 
of  suchness  {BInitatathaid'),  and  the  religious  con- 
sciousness which  always  tends  to  demand  something 
embodied  in  infinite  love  (karund)  and  infinite  wisdom 
{j'ndnd),  and  the  scientific  conception  of  the  law  of 
causation  regulating  our  ethical  as  well  as  physical 
world,  or  in  short  the  doctrine  of  karma, — these  three 
factors  working  together  in  the  mind  of  A9vaghosha, 
culminated  in  his  theory  of  the  triple  personality. 

The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  whereon  the 
Japanese  Shin  Shyu  (True  Sect)  and  Jodo  Shyu  (Pure 
Land  Sect)  laid  down  their  foundation  also,  appears 
first  in  the  present  castra.  If  the  quotation  in  the 
Mahdydna^raddhotpdda  actually  refers  to  the  Sukhha- 
vati  Sutras,  as  we  may  fairly  assume,  there  is  a  great 
probability  in  the  statement  that  during  the  first  four 
centuries  after  the  Nirvana  there  was  already  a  variety 
of  free  interpretations  about  the  teaching  of  the  Mas- 
ter, which,  commingled  with  the  other  religio-philo- 
sophical  thoughts  in  India,  eventually  made  a  full  de- 
velopment under  the  generel  names  of  the  Mahayana 
and  the  Hinayana  schools. 

A  supplementary  point  to  be  noticed  in  A9vagho- 
sha  is  the  abundance  of  similar  thoughts  and  passages 
with  those  in  the  Bhagavadgita.  The  coincidence  be- 
tween the  latter  and  the  Saddharmapundarika  has  been 
pointed  out  by  Kern  in  his  Buddhismus  und  seine  Ge- 
schichte  (Vol.  II.,   p.  500,   footnote).      While  it   is  an 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  45 

Open  question  which  of  the  two  has  an  earlier  date, 
the  Mahayana  Buddhism  as  a  whole  must  be  permitted 
to  have  some  common  points  with  the  canonical  book 
of  Qivaism. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  state  that  as  this  book, 
the  Awakening  of  Faith,  is  of  paramount  importance 
in  its  being  the  first  attempt  of  systematising  the  fun- 
damental thoughts  of  the  Mahayana  Buddhism,  as 
well  as  in  its  forming  a  main  authority  of  all  the  Maha- 
yanistic  schools,  those  who  study  the  doctrinal  history 
of  Buddhism  cannot  dispense  with  it ;  and  that,  in 
spite  of  its  highest  importance,  no  attempt  has  yet 
been  made  to  make  it  accessible  to  the  reader  who  is 
not  familiar  with  the  Chinese  language,  and  so  I  here 
offer  to  the  public  an  English  translation  of  the  entire 
text. 


ADORATION. 

ADORATION  to  the  World-honored  Ones  {Bhaga- 
-     vat)'^  in   all  the  ten   quarters,   who   universally 
produce  great  benefits,  whose  wisdom  is  infinite  and 
transcendent,  and  who  save  and  guard  [all  beings]. 
[Adoration]   to  the  Dharma^  whose  essence  and 

^  There  are  ten  appellations  most  commonly  given  to  a  Bud- 
dha :  (i)  7'athdgata  (the  one  who  thus  comes,  or  he  who  has  been 
expected  and  fulfils  all  expectations,  the  perfect  one);  (2)  Arhat 
(the  worthy  one,  but  according  to  Nagarjuna's  Mahdj^rajnd^ih-a- 
Tnitdfdstra,  Chinese  translation  by  Kumarajiva,  Vol.  III.,  p.  17, 
one  who  has  destroyed  all  enemies  of  evil  passions,  or  one  who  is 
revered  by  gods  and  men,  or  one  who  will  not  be  reborn ;  see  also 
Vol.  II.,  p.  20);  (3)  Samyaksamhuddha  (one  who  is  perfect  by 
enlightenment);  (4)  Vidydcara^iasamfanna  (one  who  is  perfect  in 
knowledge  and  conduct);  (5)  Stigata  (one  who  goes  well);  (6)  Lo- 
havid  (one  who  knows  the  world);  (7)  A^iutiara  (one  who  has  no 
superior);  (8)  PiirusJiadainyasd7-athi  (the  tamer  of  all  beings); 
(9)  Cdstddevdmannshydndm  (the  teacher  of  gods  and  men);  (10) 
Buddha  (the  enlightened  one).  When  Lokavid  and  Antitta7-a  are 
considered  to  be  one  title,  as  in  the  Sutra  on  the  Ten  Apcllations, 
Bhagavat  is  added  to  make  the  tenth. 

^According  to  a  general  interpretation  of  Mahiy^na  Buddhists 
dharma  means:  (i)  that  which  exists;  (2)  the  object  of  under- 
standing. Dharma  may  therefore  be  rendered  in  the  first  sense  by 
"object,"  or  "thing,"  or  "substance,"  or  "being,"  including 
everything  mental  as  well  as  physical  in  its  broadest  sense,  and 
so  sarvadharma  will  designate  all  possible  existences  in  the  uni- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  47 

attributes  are  like  the  ocean,  revealing  to  us  the  prin- 
ciple of  anatman  and  forming  the  storage  of  infinite 
merits. 

[Adoration]  to  the  congregation  {samghd)  of  those 
who  assiduously  aspire  after  perfect  knowledge  {sam- 
vaksambodhi^. 

That  all  beings  (^sarvasattvd)  may  rid  themselves 
of  doubt,  become  free  from  evil  attachment,  and,  by 
the  awakening  of  faith  {p'addhd),  inherit  Buddha- 
seeds,  I  write  this  Discourse.^ 

verse;  while  dharma  in  the  second  sense  may  safely  be  rendered 
by  "law"  or  "doctrine"  as  generally  understood  by  Western 
Buddhist  scholars,  to  most  of  whom,  however,  the  first  significance 
of  the  term  is  strangely  unknown.  Max  Miiller  fitly  remarks  in 
his  introduction  to  the  English  translation  of  the  Vajracchedtkd, 
p.  xiv  :  "Dharma  in  its  ordinary  Buddhist  phraseology  may  be 
correctly  rendered  by  law.  Thus  the  whole  teaching  of  Buddha  is 
called  the  good  law,  Saddharma.  But  in  our  treatise  dharma  is 
generally  used  in  a  different  sense.  It  means  form  {el6og)  and 
likewise  what  is  possessed  of  form,  what  is  therefore  different  from 
other  things,  what  is  individual,  in  fact,  what  we  mean  by  a  thing 
or  an  object.  This  meaning  has  escaped  most  of  the  translators, 
both  Oriental  and  Western,  but  if  we  were  always  to  translate 
dharma  by  law,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  whole  drift  of  our  treatise 
would  become  unintelligible."  In  this  translation  dharma  is  ren- 
dered sometimes  by  "thing,"  sometimes  by  "law,"  sometimes  by 
"  truth  "or  "  doctrine,"  according  to  the  context.  But  when  it  is 
synonymous  with  suchness  {bJiiltatathatd),  I  have  retained  its 
original  Sanskrit  form,  capitalised. 

^An  almost  similar  passage  is  repeated  in  the  succeeding  para- 
graph, while  it  does  not  occur  in  the  older  translation  It  may  be 
a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  new  translation,  but  I  have  left  it  as 
it  stands  in  the  text. 


DISCOURSE. 


T7OR  the  purpose  of  awakening  in  all  beings  a  pure 
-■-  faith  in  the  Maha3^ana,^  of  destroying  their  doubts 
and  attachment  to  false  doctrines,  and  of  affording 
them  an  uninterrupted  inheritance  of  Buddha-seeds, 
I  write  this  Discourse. 

There  is  a  principle  whereby  the  root  of  faith  in 
the  Mahayana  can  be  produced,  and  I  shall  explain  it. 

The  explanation  consists  of  five  parts : 

^  The  term  Mahayana  here  seems  not  to  have  been  used  as  it 
usually  is  in  contrast  to  the  Hinayana.  A5vaghosha  adopts  it  sim- 
ply to  denote  the  greatness  of  suchness  (phtltatathatd)  as  well  as 
to  prove  its  being  the  safest  and  surest  means  of  salvation.  It  is 
therefore  the  name  given  to  the  first  principle  itself,  and  not  to 
any  philosophical  system  or  religious  dogmatics.  But  the  term 
used  in  this  wise  by  A5vaghosha  and  perhaps  in  earlier  Mahayana 
texts  gradually  lost  its  original  sense  in  the  course  of  the  develop- 
ment of  this  progressive  religious  view.  It  was  then  transferred  to 
distinguish  the  system  at  large  from  that  of  the  so-called  ^ravakas, 
to  which  the  followers  of  the  former  gave  in  contrast  to  their  own 
the  rather  humiliating  name  Hinayana.  At  the  time  of  A9vaghosha 
the  controversy  between  them  was  probably  not  as  vehement  as  it 
proved  later  on.  And  this  fact  may  be  seen  from  the  tolerant 
spirit  shown  in  the  third  convocation  under  the  reign  of  King  Ka- 
nishka.  By  the  Mahayana  followers  Ayvaghosha  is  unanimously 
recognised  as  the  forerunner  of  Nagdrjuna  by  whose  marvellous 
genius  the  system  was  brought  to  maturity. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  49 

I.    Introductory. 

II.   General  Statement  of  Principles. 
III.   The  Explanation  Itself. 
IV.   The  Practice  of  Faith. 

V.   Benefits  [derived  therefrom]. 

I.  INTRODUCTORY. 

There  are  eight  inducements  [to  write  this  Dis- 
course] : 

1.  A  general  object,  i.  e.,  that  the  author  might 
induce  all  beings  to  liberate  themselves  from  misery 
and  to  enjoy  blessing,  and  not  that  he  might  gain 
thereby  some  worldly  advantages,  etc. 

2.  That  he  might  unfold  the  fundamental  truth  of 
the  Tathagata  and  let  all  beings  have  a  right  compre- 
hension of  it. 

3.  That  he  might  enable  those  who  have  brought 
their  root  of  merit  [ku^alafuula)  to  maturity  and  ob- 
tained immovable  faith,  to  have  a  philosophical  grasp 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Maha5^ana. 

4.  That  he  might  enable  those  whose  root  of  merit 
is  weak  and  insignificant,  to  acquire  faith  and  to  ad- 
vance to  the  stage  of  immovable  firmness  {avaivarti- 
katva).^ 

5.  That  he  might  induce  all  beings  to  obliterate 

^ Avaivartikatva  means  literally  "never  retreat."  Faith  is 
said  to  become  immovably  firm  when  one  enters  into  the  group  of 
those  who  cannot  be  shaken  in  the  possession  of  absolute  truth 
{samyaktvattiyatarafi).  For  a  further  explanation  see  the  ref- 
erence in  the  Index  to  samyaktvaniyatarafi. 


50  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

the  previously  acquired  evils  {durgatiox  karmdvarana), 
to  restrain  their  own  thoughts,  and  to  free  themselves 
from  the  three  venomous  passions.^ 

6.  That  he  might  induce  all  beings  to  practise  the 
orthodox  method  of  cessation  [or  tranquilisation  ga- 
matha]  and  of  intellectual  insight  {vidar^and),^  to  be 
fortified  against  the  commission  of  mental  trespasses 
due  to  inferiority  of  mind. 

7.  That  he  might  induce  all  beings  in  the  right 
way  to  ponder  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Mahayana,  for 
thus  they  will  be  born  in  the  presence  of  Buddhas,' 
and  acquire  the  absolutely  immovable  Mahayana- 
faith. 

8.  That  he  might,  by  disclosing  those  benefits 
which  are  produced  by  joyfully  believing  in  the  Maha- 
yana, let  sentient  beings  become  acquainted  with  the 
final  aim  of  their  efforts. 

Though  all  these  doctrines  are  sufficiently  set  forth 

1  They  are  :  (i)  covetousness  [lobha);  (2)  malice  {dvesha);  (3) 
ignorance  {mohd). 

"^Camatha  and  Vidarfajia  or  Vipa(yana  constitute  one  of 
the  five  methods  of  discipline,  for  whose  full  explanation  see  the 
reference  in  the  Index  to  these  terms. 

^  This  passage,  which  is  considered  to  be  a  reference  to  the 
Sukhavati  Sutras,  such  as  the  Larger  and  the  Smaller  Suk?idvatt- 
vyHha,  or  the  Amitdyur-dJiyi^na,  seems  to  prove  that  some  of  the 
Mahayana  texts  of  the  Pure  Land  Sect  had  been  in  existence  be- 
fore the  time  of  A^vaghosha  who  gives  towards  the  end  of  his  Dis- 
course a  quotation  apparently  taken  from  one  of  the  above-men- 
tioned Sutras.  The  SUtras  therefore  must  be  at  least  one  or  two 
hundred  years  older  than  A^vaghosha,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
quoted  as  an  authentic  teaching  of  Buddha. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  5I 

in  the  Mahayana  Sutras,^  yet  as  the  predispositions 
and  inclinations  of  the  people^  are  not  the  same,  and 
the  conditions  for  obtaining  enlightenment  vary,  I 
now  write  this  Discourse. 

There  is  another  reason  for  doing  so.  At  the  time 
of  the  Tathagata  the  people  were  unusually  gifted, 
and  the  Buddha's  presence,  majestic  both  in  mind 
and  body,  served  to  unfold  the  infinite  significances 
of  the  Dharma  with  simplicity  and  yet  in  perfection. 
Accordingly  there  was  no  need  for  a  philosophical 
discourse  {gdstra) . 

After  the  Nirvana  of  the  Buddha  there  were  men 
who  possessed  in  themselves  the  intellectual  power 
to  understand  the  many-sided  meanings  of  the  Sutras,^ 

^  The  view  here  proposed  by  A9vaghosha,  which  is  called  by 
Chinese  Buddhists  the  theory  of  the  evolution  of  the  Tathagata- 
garbha,  is  considered  to  be  an  elucidation  of  the  doctrine  taught 
by  Buddha  in  such  Mahayana  Sutras  as  the  Lankdvatdra,  Ghaiia- 
vyUha,  Crtmdld,  etc. 

2  Literally,  those  who  are  to  be  converted. 

^  There  are  twelve  divisions  called  Angas  in  the  Mahayanist 
writings,  while  in  the  Pali  only  nine  are  counted.  The  twelve 
angas  are:  (i)  siltra  (aphorisms);  (2)  gey  a  (verses  in  which  the 
same  thing  is  repeated  as  in  the  prose  part);  (3)  vydkarana  (Bud- 
dha's prophecy  about  Bodhisattva's  attainment  of  Buddhahood  in 
the  future);  (4)  gdthd  (independent  verses);  (5)  uddna  (sermons 
on  Buddha's  own  account);  (6)  niddna  (sermons  as  the  occasion 
required);  (7)  avaddna  (legends,  but  according  to  Chinese  inter- 
pretation parables);  (8)  ityiikta  (speeches  relating  to  the  former 
deeds  of  Bodhisattvas);  [g)  Jdtaka  (accounts  of  Buddha's  own  for- 
mer lives);  (10)  vaipulya  (doctrines  of  deep  significance);  (11)  ad- 
bhutadharma  (extraordinary  phenomena);  (12)  tipadefa  (exposi- 
tions). 


52  AgVAGHOSHA's 

even  if  they  read  only  a  few  of  them.  There  were 
others  who  by  their  own  intellectual  powers  could 
understand  the  meanings  of  the  Sutras  only  after  an 
extensive  reading  of  many  of  them.  Still  others  lack- 
ing in  intellectual  powers  of  their  own  could  under- 
stand the  meanings  of  the  Sutras  only  through  the  as- 
sistance of  elaborate  commentaries.  But  there  are 
some  who,  lacking  in  intellectual  powers  of  their  own, 
shun  the  perusal  of  elaborate  commentaries  and  take 
delight  in  studying  and  cultivating  enquiries  which 
present  the  many-sidedness  and  universality  of  the 
doctrine  in  a  concise  form. 

For  the  sake  of  the  people  of  the  last  class  I  write 
this  Discourse,  in  which  the  most  excellent,  the  deep- 
est, and  the  most  inexhaustible  Doctrine  of  the  Ta- 
thagata  will  be  treated  in  comprehensive  brevity. 

II.  GENERAL  STATEMENT. 

In  what  does  the  general  statement  consist? 
The   Mahayana  can   be  briefly  treated   as  to   two 
aspects,  namely,  What  it  is,  and  What  it  signifies.^ 

^"  What  is"  and  "What  signifies"  are  respectively  in  Chi- 
nese yti  fa  ^  '/i  and  fa  \^  ,  but  in  the  older  translation  fa  ife 
and  I  iS^  .  This  is  a  little  puzzling,  but  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  in 
Chinese  as  well  as  in  Sanskrity«  or  dharma  means  both  the  sub- 
stance itself  and  its  attribute  or  significance,  or  law  that  regulates 
its  movements,  we  will  understand  that  ParamSrtha,  the  first  trans- 
lator, used /a  here  in  the  sense  of  substance  or  "what  is,"  while 
(^ikshananda,  the  second  translator,  used  the  word  in  the  sense  of 
significance  or  that  by  which  a  thing  is  conceived,  the  ordinary 
meaning  of  i. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  53 

What  is  the  Mahayana?  It  is  the  souP  of  all  sen- 
tient beings  {sarvasaitva),  that  constitutes  all  things 
in  the  world,  phenomenal  and  supra-phenomenal ;  2 
and  through  this  soul  we  can  disclose  what  the  Maha- 
yana signifies. 

Because  the  soul  in  itself,  involving  the  quintes- 
sence of  the  Mahayana,  is  suchness  (J?  hut  at  at  hat  a), 
but  it  becomes  [in  its  relative  or  transitory  aspect, 
through  the  law  of  causation]  birth-and-death  (sam- 
sdra)  in  which  are  revealed  the  quintessence,  the  at. 
tributes,  and  the  activity  of  the  Mahayana. 

The  Mahayana  has  a  triple  significance.^ 

The  first  is  the  greatness  of  quintessence.  Be- 
cause the  quintessence  of  the  Mahayana  as  suchness 

^  "  Soul  "  is  not  used  here  in  a  dualistic  sense,  but  as  Dr.  Paul 
Carus  defines  it  in  the  last  chapter  of  T/ie  Soul  of  Ma7i.  Speaking 
of  the  soul  of  the  universe  he  defines  the  term  as  "  the  formative 
principle  which  gave  and  still  gives  shape  to  the  world"  (loc.  cit., 
first  edition,  p.  437).  The  literal  translation  of  the  Chinese  char- 
acter >£^  hsin  is  kernel,  or  heart,  or  essence  of  all  things.  The 
Chinese  hsin,  however,  is  rather  indiscriminately  used  in  our  text 
for  both  Sanskrit  terms,  Hrdaya  (kernel  or  heart)  and  Citta  (mind, 
the  thinking  faculty).  These  terms  are  more  or  less  synonymous, 
especially  from  Agvaghosha's  standpoint,  that  does  not  allow  the 
transcendental  existence  of  a  metaphysical  soul-entity.  In  this 
translation  soul  denotes  the  absolute  aspect  of  suchness,  and  mind 
its  relative  aspect,  wherever  this  distinction  is  noticeable. 

^  This  is  a  literal   translation   of   the  Chinese  chu  shi  chien 
tU  IBr  F^ .     It    signifies    anything   transcending    conditionality   or 
worldliness. 

^  This  triad  which  has  a  striking  similarity  to  Spinoza's  con- 
ception of  substance,  attributes  and  modes,  also  reminds  us  of  the 
first  principles  {faddrtha)  of  the  Vaigeshika  philosophy,  that  is, 
substance  {dravya),  qualities  i^guna),  and  action  {karma). 


54  a^vaghosha's 

exists  in  all  things,  remains  unchanged  in  the  pure  as 
well  as  in  the  defiled,  is  always  one  and  the  same 
{sa?natd),  neither  increases  nor  decreases,  and  is  void 
of  distinction. 

The  second  is  the  greatness  of  attributes.  Here  we 
have  the  Tathagata's^  womb^  {tathdgatagajbhd)  which 
in  exuberance  contains  immeasurable  and  innumer- 
able merits  {pmiya)  as  its  characteristics. 

The  third  is  the  greatness  of  activity,  for  it  [i.  e., 
Mahayana]  produces  all  kinds  of  good  work  in  the 
world,  phenomenal  and  supra-phenomenal.  [Hence 
the  name  Mahdyd^Tidi  (great  vehicle).] 

[Again  this  Dharma  is  called  the  Mahaj'*^;^^; ;]  be- 
cause it  is   the  vehicle^  (yd/m)  in  which   all  Buddhas 

1  Tathagata  literally  means  one  who  thus  or  truly  comes.  That 
the  omnipresent  principle  of  suchness  could  come  or  go  appeared 
contradictory  and  seemed  to  render  an  explanation  necessary.  The 
Vajracchedikd- Sutra,  Max  Miiller's  English  translation,  Chap. 
XXIX:  "And  again,  O  Subhiiti,  if  anybody  were  to  say  that  the 
TathSgata  goes,  or  comes,  or  stands,  or  sits,  or  lies  down,  he,  O 
Subhflti,  does  not  understand  the  meaning  of  my  preaching.  And 
why  ?  Because  the  word  Tathagata  means  one  who  does  not  go 
anywhere,  and  does  not  come  from  anywhere  ;  and  therefore  he  is 
called  the  Tathagata  (truly  come),  holy  and  fully  enlightened." 

2Cf.  the  BhavadgUd  {Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Vol.  VIII., 
Chap.  XIV.,  p.  107)  :  "The  great  Brahman  is  a  womb  for  me,  in 
which  I  cast  the  seed.  From  that,  O  descendant  of  Bharata  !  is 
the  birth  of  all  things.  Of  the  bodies,  O  son  of  Kunti !  which  are 
born  from  all  wombs,  the  main  womb  is  the  great  Brahman,  and  I 
am  the  father,  the  giver  of  the  seed." 

^  Cf .  the  Saddharrna-pundartka,  Chap.  II,  [Sacred  Books 
0/ the  East,  Vol.  XXI.,  p.  40):  "By  means  of  one  sole  vehicle,  to 
wit,  the  Buddha-vehicle,  Qariputra,  do  I  teach  creatures  the  law; 
there  is  no  second,  nor  a  third." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  55 

from  the  beginning  have  been  riding,  and  Bodhisatt- 
vas^  when  riding  in  it  will  enter  into  the  state  of  Bud- 
dhahood. 

III.  THE  EXPLANATION. 

In  what  does  the  explanation  of  the  general  state- 
ment consist? 

This  part  consists  of  three  subdivisions  : 

1.  The  Revelation  of  the  True  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Refutation  of  False  Doctrines. 

3.  The  Practice  of  the  Right  Path. 

I.    The  Revelation  of  the  True  Doctrine. 

In  the  one  soul  we  may  distinguish  two  aspects. 
The  one  is  the  Soul  as  suchness  {b  hut  at  at  hat  a),  the 
other  is  the  soul  as  birth-and-death  {sa7nsdra').  Each 
in  itself  constitutes  all  things,  and  both  are  so  closely 
interrelated  that  one  cannot  be   separated   from   the 

other. 

A.    The  Soul  as  Suchness. 

What  is  meant  by  the  soul  as  suchness  {bhutata- 
ihata),  is  the  oneness  of  the  totality  of  things  {dhar- 
madhdtu),^  the  great  all-including  whole,  the  quintes- 

^  Literally,  one  who  seeks  perfect  enlightenment,  or  one  who 
is  full  of  wisdom  and  compassion. 

^S.  Beal  in  his  English  translation  of  A^vaghosha's  Buddha- 
carita  {Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Vol.  XIX.,  p.  324,  footnote) 
considers  dharrnadJidtu  to  be  "the  mystic  or  ideal  world  of  the 
Northern  Buddhists"  and  says  it  means  literally  the  "limit  of 
dharma."  The  interpretation  is  evidently  wrong,  not  only  because 
dhdtu  according  to  the  Madhyanta-vibhdga-fdstra  by  Vasubandhu 


56  a(;vaghosha's 

sence  of  the  Doctrine.  For  the  essential  nature  of 
the  soul  is  uncreate  and  eternal. 

All  things,  simply  on  account  of  our  confused  sub- 
jectivity {smr/i),^  appear  under  the  forms  of  individ- 
uation. If  we  could  overcome  our  confused  subjec- 
tivity, the  signs  of  individuation  would  disappear,  and 
there  would  be  no  trace  of  a  world  of  [individual  and 
isolated]  objects. ^ 

Therefore  all  things  in  their  fundamental  nature 
are  not  namable  or  explicable.  They  cannot  be  ade- 
quately expressed  in  any  form  of  language.    They  are 

(two  Chinese  translations  :  one  by  Paramartha  A.  D.  557-569,  and 
the  other  by  Hsiian-tsang  A.  D.  691)  means  root,  base,  cause,  or 
principle ;  but  because  Dharmadhdtu,  fa  kai  1^  ^  in  Chinese, 
is  not  used  by  the  Northern  Buddhists  in  the  sense  that  Beal  gives. 
It  means  on  the  other  hand  this  actual  world  considered  from  the 
point  of  its  forming  the  basis  of  the  law  ;  or,  to  use  modern  scien- 
tific terminology,  it  is  existence  in  its  organised  totality.  A5va- 
ghosha  uses  the  term  here  in  this  sense. 

1  The  term  is  usually  rendered  by  recollection  or  memory,  but 
A9vaghosha  uses  it  apparently  in  a  different  sense.  It  must  mean 
subjectivity,  or  the  perception  of  particularity,  or  that  mental  ac- 
tivity which  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  suchness  of  things  ;  if 
otherwise,  the  whole  drift  of  the  present  Discourse  becomes  totally 
unintelligible.  Smrti  is  in  some  degree  obviously  synonymous 
with  Avidya  (ignorance)  which  is  more  general  and  more  prim- 
ordial than  the  former.  Ignorance  appears  first  and  when  it  starts 
the  world-process,  "subjectivity"  is  evolved,  which  in  its  turn 
causes  particularisation  to  take  place.  Particularisation  does  not 
annihilate  suchness,  but  it  overshadows  the  light  of  its  perfect 
spiritual  wisdom. 

^  Schopenhauer  who  says,  "  no  subject  without  object,"  seems 
to  express  a  similar  idea  that  without  subjectivity,  "the  objective 
world,"  i.  e.,  "  the  world  as  Vorstellutig,  as  representation  of  ob- 
jects" would  vanish. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  57 

without  the  range  of  apperception.  [They  are  uni- 
versals.]  They  [things  in  their  fundamental  nature] 
have  no  signs  of  distinction.  [They  are  not  particu- 
lars.] They  possess  absolute  sameness  {samatd). 
[They  are  universals.]  They  are  subject  neither  to 
transformation,  nor  to  destruction.  They  are  nothing 
but  the  one  soul,  for  which  suchness  is  another  desig- 
nation. Therefore  they  cannot  be  [fully]  explained 
by  words  or  exhausted  by  reasoning. 

While  all  words  and  expressions  are  nothing  but 
representations  and  not  realities,  and  their  existence 
depends  simply  on  our  confused  subjectivity,  such- 
ness has  no  attribute  [of  particularity]  to  speak  of. 
But  the  term  suchness  is  all  that  can  be  expressed  in 
language,  and  through  this  term  all  other  terms  may 
be  disposed  of. 

In  the  essence  of  suchness,  there  is  neither  any- 
thing which  has  to  be  excluded,  nor  anything  which 
has  to  be  added.^ 


^  If  I  understand  Ayvaghosha  correctly,  he  intends  to  say  that 
to  the  sentient  subject  the  world  consists  of  a  number  of  isolated 
objects.  The  nature  of  subjectivity  is  sense-apperception  ;  and  in 
sense-apperception  the  particular  things  are  represented  in  the 
particularity  only,  not  in  their  suchness  as  momentarily  material- 
ised universals.  We  must  overcome  subjectivity  in  order  to  dis- 
cover suchness  ;  but  when  suchness  is  recognised,  it  is  at  once  un- 
derstood to  constitute  the  essence  and  only  true  reality  of  things. 

2  The  older  translation  has:  "In  the  essence  of  suchness, 
there  is  nothing  to  be  excluded,  for  all  things  are  true  ;  nor  is  there 
anything  to  be  added,  for  all  things  are  such  as  they  are.  Be  it 
known  therefore  that  as  thus  all  things  are  undemonstrable  and 


58  AgVAGHOSHA's 

Now  the  question  arises  :  If  that  be  so,  how  can 
all  beings  conform  to  and  have  an  insight  into  [such- 
ness]? 

The  answer  is  :  As  soon  as  you  understand  that 
when  the  totality  of  existence  is  spoken  of,  or  thought 
of,  there  is  neither  that  which  speaks  nor  that  which 
is  spoken  of,  there  is  neither  that  which  thinks  nor 
that  which  is  thought  of ;  then  you  conform  to  such- 
ness  ;  and  when  your  subjectivity  is  thus  completely 
obliterated,  it  is  said  to  have  the  insight. 

Again  there  is  a  twofold  aspect  in  suchness  if 
viewed  from  the  point  of  its  explicabiiity.  The  first 
is  trueness  as   negation  {^tlfiyata)^'^  in  the  sense  that 

unrepresentable  [by  our  confused  understanding] ,  they  are  called 
suchness." 

^  The  term  (Utiyatd  which  means  literally  void  or  emptiness, 
has  suffered  a  great  deal  of  misunderstanding  by  those  who  are 
not  well  acquainted  with  Buddhist  phraseology.  If  Mah^yanists 
used  the  term,  as  imagined  by  some  critics,  in  the  sense  of  ab- 
solute nothingness,  denying  the  existence  of  everything  condi- 
tional as  well  as  unconditional,  relative  as  well  as  independent, 
how  could  they  speak  about  the  highest  truth  {paramdj-thasatya) 
or  the  most  excellent  perfect  enlightenment  [amittarasamyak- 
samhodhi)  which  all  conveys  the  sense  of  affirmation  ?  What  the 
Qdnyata  doctrine  positively  insists  on,  is  the  denial  of  sensational- 
ism, and  the  annihilation  of  the  imagination  that  weaves  a  dualistic 
world-conception.  If  this  could  be  called  a  nihilism,  every  intel- 
lectual attempt  to  reach  a  unitary  view  of  the  universe  would  be 
nihilistic,  for  it  declares  the  untenability  of  a  separate  existence  of 
matter  and  thought,  me  and  not-me,  etc.  It  is  odd  enough  that 
such  a  self-evident  truth  should  have  escaped  the  keen  observance 
of  Christian  critics.  A9vaghosha  here  states  that  the  bhfltatathatS 
is  at  once  ^Qnya  and  a9unya.  It  is  5{\nya  because  it  transcends 
all  forms  of  separation  and  individuation  ;  it  is  a9flnya  because 
all  possible  things  in  the  world  emanate  from  it.     Even  N^g^rjuna 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  59 

it  is  completely  set  apart  from  the  attributes  of  all 
things  unreal,  that  it  is  the  real  reality.  The  second 
is  trueness  as  affirmation  (^a^unyata),  in  the  sense  that 
it  contains  infinite  merits,  that  it  is  self-existent. 

And  again  by  trueness  as  negation  we  mean  that 
in  its  [metaphysical]  origin  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
things  defiled  [i.  e.,  conditional],  that  it  is  free  from 
all  signs  of  distinction  existing  among  phenomenal 
objects,  that  it  is  independent  of  unreal,  particularis- 
ing consciousness. 

Thus  we  understand  that  suchness  (^b  hut  at  at  hat  a) 
is  neither  that  which  is  existence,  nor  that  which  is 
non-existence,  nor  that  which  is  at  once  existence  and 
non-existence,  nor  that  which  is  not  at  once  existence 
and  non-existence  ;  that  it  is  neither  that  which  is 
unity,  nor  that  which  is  plurality,  nor  that  which  is  at 
once  unity  and  plurality,  nor  that  which  is  not  at  once 
unity  and  plurality.  ^ 

who  is  supposed  to  be  the  founder  of  the  nihilistic  Prajnap^ramitd 
system  by  Christian  students  of  Buddhism,  says  in  his  Mddhya- 
7nika-(dstra,  Chap.  XXII.,  that  the  idea  of  gunyata  and  that  of 
a§unyata  are  both  wrong,  but  that  from  the  deficiency  of  language 
to  denote  the  exact  state  of  things  he  has  made  use  of  these  terms. 
(Observe  that  Apvaghosha  says  the  very  same  thing  in  the  preced- 
ing passages.)  Nagirj una  therefore  apparently  had  something  in 
his  mind  to  define,  but  that  something  having  nothing  in  common 
with  things  we  daily  encounter  in  our  sense-world,  he  designated 
it  Qunya,  empty,  and  he  hoped  by  thus  abnegating  all  phenomenal 
existences,  we  could  reach  the  highest  reality,  for  ignorant  minds 
are  deeply  saturated  with  wrong  afi&rmations  and  false  judgements. 

^Cf.  Nagarjuna's  "Eight  No's"  doctrine  which  says:  "There 
is  no  production  {utfddd),  no  destruction  {uccheda),  no  annihila- 
tion {nirodha),  no  persistence  {fd(vata),  no  unity  {ekdfika),  no 


6o  a^vaghosha's 

In  a  word,  as  suchness  cannot  be  comprehended 
by  the  particularising  consciousness  of  all  beings,  we 
call  it  the  negation  [or  nothingness,  ^zlnya^dl. 

The  truth  is  that  subjectivity  does  not  exist  by  it- 
self, that  the  negation  (gunja^d)  is  also  void  {^i^nya) 
in  its  nature,  that  neither  that  which  is  negated  [viz., 
the  external  world]  nor  that  which  negates  [viz.,  the 
mind]  is  an  independent  entity.^ 

By  the  so-called  trueness  as  affirmation,  we  mean 
that  [as  soon  as  we  understand]  subjectivity  is  empty 
and  unreal,  we  perceive  the  pure  soul  manifesting 
itself  as  eternal,  permanent,  immutable  and  com- 
pletely comprising  all  things  that  are  pure.  On  that 
account  we  call  it  affirmation  [or  reality,  or  non- 
emptiness,  a^unya^d'].  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  trace 
of  affirmation  in  it,  because  it  is  not  the  product  of  a 
confused  subjectivity,  because  only  by  transcending 
subjectivity  {smr/i)  can  it  be  grasped. 

b.  The  Soul  as  Birth-and- Death. 
The  soul  as  birth- and-death  {samsdrd)  comes  forth 
[as  the  law  of  causation]  from  the  Tathagata's  womb 
{Tat hdgat agar bha^.  But  the  immortal  [i.  e.,  such- 
plurality  {7idndrtha),  no  coming  in  {il^'a^nana),  no  going  out  {ni?-- 
gama).''  The  statement  means  that  pure  truth  [faramdrtJia) 
transcends  all  modes  of  relativity.  (See  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Mcidhyamika-(dstra . ) 

^  In  the  Kantian  sense  of  "  things  in  themselves."  The  Ma- 
dhyamika  school  would  say  they  are  all  Alya7ita-(il72yati1,  com- 
plete void,  meaning  that  things  are  subject  to  transformation  and 
have  no  absolute  existence. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  6l 

ness]  and  the  mortal  [i.  e.,  birth-and-death]  coincide 
with  each  other.  ^  Though  they  are  not  identical,  they 
are  not  a  duality.  [Thus  when  the  absolute  soul  as- 
sumes a  relative  aspect  by  its  self-affirmation]  it  is 
called  the  all-conserving  mind  (^dlaya-vijndna).^ 

The  same  mind  has  a  twofold  significance  as  the 
organiser  and  the  producer  of  all  things. 

Again  it  embraces  two  principles :  (i)  Enlighten- 
ment ;  (2)  Non-enlightenment. 

Enlightenment  is  the  highest  quality  of  the  mind  ; 
it  is  free  from  all  [the  limiting]  attributes  of  subjec- 
tivity {snirti^.     As  it  is  free  from  all  [limiting]  attri- 

^  Cf.  the  Bhagavadgttd,  Chap.  IX.,  p.  84  :  "  I  am  immortality 
and  also  death ;  and  I,  O  Arjuna!  am  that  which  is  and  that  which 
is  not."     See  also  Chap.  X.,  p.  90. 

^  Alaya  or  A  lay  a  comes  from  the  root /f,  which  means:  ad- 
here; melt,  dissolve;  sit  upon,  dwell  in,  stay  in,  etc.;  while  its 
nominal  form  laya  means :  act  of  clinging ;  melting,  fusion,  solu- 
tion, dissolution ;  rest,  repose ;  place  of  rest,  residence,  house, 
dwelling.  According  to  Paramartha,  who  belongs  to  the  so-called 
"Older  Translators,"  the  original  Sanskrit  equivalent  of  the  "all- 
conserving  mind"  seems  to  be  alaya  or  aliya,  for  he  translates  it 
by  Wti  mo  shih,  not-disappearing  mind,  in  the  sense  that  this 
mind  retains  everything  in  it.  But  Hsiian-tsang,  the  leader  of  the 
"  New  Translators,"  renders  it  hy  t sang  shih,  that  is,  the  mind 
that  hoards  or  preserves,  or  dwelling-mind  or  receptacle-mind, 
according  to  which  the  original  seems  to  be  dlaya,  or  laya  with 
the  prefix  d  instead  of  its  negative  form  with  the  particle  a.  The 
ultimate  significance  of  the  term  in  question,  however,  does  not 
materially  dififer,  whether  it  is  zvu  mo,  not-disappearing,  or  tsang, 
house,  place  of  keeping  things.  My  translation  of  the  same  is 
rather  liberal,  in  order  to  make  it  more  intelligible  to  the  general 
reader.  Some  other  names  given  to  the  dlaya-vijndna  are  citia^ 
mind ;  dddna,  the  supporting ;  dfraya,  foundation  or  seeds. 


62  a^vaghosha's 

butes  of  subjectivity,  it  is  like  unto  space  {ak(t(^d)^ 
penetrating  everywhere,  as  the  unity  of  all  {dhanna- 
dhdtu^.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  the  universal  Dharma- 
kaya^  of  all  Tathagatas. 

On  account  of  this  Dharmakaya,  all  Tathagatas 
are  spoken  of  as  abiding  in  enlightenment  a  priori. 

Enlightenment  a  priori  is  contrasted  with  enlight- 
enment a  posteriori.  Through  enlightenment  a  pos- 
teriori is  gained  no  more  than   enlightenment  a  priori. 

Now  we  speak  of  enlightenment  rt: /^j'/^r/^r/;  be- 
cause there  is  enlightenment  a  priori,  there   is   non- 


^  There  seems  to  be  a  general  misconception  about  the  exact 
significance  of  the  term  Dharmakaya  which  constitutes  the  cen- 
tral point  of  the  Mahayana  system.  Most  Western  Buddhist 
scholars  render  it  the  Body  or  Personality  of  the  Law,  understand- 
ing by  law  the  doctrine  of  Buddha.  This  may  be  correct  in  the 
Southern  Buddhism  as  well  as  in  its  historical  sense,  because  after 
the  Nirvana  of  Buddha  it  was  quite  natural  for  his  disciples  to 
personify  the  doctrine  of  their  teacher,  as  their  now  only  living 
spiritual  leader.  But  in  the  course  of  time  it  acquired  entirely 
different  significance  and  ceased  to  mean  the  personification  of  the 
Doctrine.  Now  dha^'ma,  as  aforesaid,  does  not  only  mean  law  or 
doctrine,  but  also  it  means  an  individual  object,  an  idea,  a  sub- 
stance, or,  when  it  is  used  in  its  broadest  sense,  existence  in  gen- 
eral. Kdya  means  a  body  or  person,  but  not  in  the  sense  of  an 
animated,  sentient  being;  it  denotes  a  system  in  which  parts  are 
connected,  a  unified  whole,  that  which  forms  a  basis,  etc.  Dharma- 
kaya therefore  signifies  that  which  constitute.s  the  ultimate  foun- 
dation of  existence,  one  great  whole  in  which  all  forms  of  individ- 
uation are  obliterated,  in  a  word,  the  Absolute.  This  objective 
absolute  being  meanwhile  has  been  idealised  by  Mahayanists  so 
that  that  which  knows  is  now  identical  with  that  which  is  known, 
because  they  say  that  the  essence  of  existence  is  nothing  but  intel- 
ligence pure,  perfect,  and  free  from  all  possible  worries  and  evils. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  63 

enlightenment,  and  because  there  is  non-enlighten- 
ment we  can  speak  of  enlightenment  a  posteriori. 

Again,  when  the  mind  is  enlightened  as  to  its  own 
ultimate  nature,  it  is  called  perfect  enlightenment ; 
when  it  is  not  enlightened  as  to  its  ultimate  nature,  it 
is  not  perfect  enlightenment. 

Common  people  ^  {prihagjana),  who,  becoming 
conscious  of  errors  that  occur  in  a  succession  of  their 
mental  states,  abstain  from  making  conclusions,  may 
be  spoken  of  as  enlightened ;  but  in  reality  theirs  is 
non-enlightenment. 

Qravakas,2    Pratyekabuddhas,    and    those    Bodhi- 

^ Prthagjana  has  a  technical  sense  in  Buddhism,  for  any  one 
that  is  ignorant  of  the  doctrine  of  non-atman  and  commits  all 
those  actions  which  lead  one  to  a  constant  transmigration,  is 
counted  among  the  frofa^ium  vidgtis,  to  distinguish  him  from  the 
^ravaka,  Pratyekabuddha,  and  Bodhisattva. 

2  The  Saddharma;pu?tda7'tka- SMra  contains  an  explanation 
of  these  terms  generally  adopted  by  Mahayanists,  which  read  as 
follows  (see  Kern's  English  translation  of  the  same.  Chap.  III.,  p. 
80):  "Now,  (^ariputra,  the  beings  who  have  become  wise  have 
faith  in  the  Tathagata,  the  father  of  the  world,  and  consequently 
apply  themselves  to  his  commandments.  Amongst  them  there  are 
some  who,  wishing  to  follow  the  dictates  of  an  authoritative  voice, 
apply  themselves  to  the  commandment  of  the  Tathagata  to  acquire 
the  knowledge  of  the  four  great  truths,  for  the  sake  of  tJieir  own 
complete  Nirvana.  These  one  may  say  to  be  those  who,  coveting 
the  vehicle  of  the  disciple  (^ravaka),  fly  from  the  triple  world."  .  .  . 
This  is  the  definition  given  to  the  Qravakayana.  We  proceed  next 
to  that  of  the  Pratyekabuddhayana :  "Other  beings,  desirous  of 
the  science  without  a  master,  of  self-restraint  and  tranquillity,  ap- 
ply themselves  to  the  commandment  of  the  Tathagata  to  learn  to 
understand  causes  and  effects  {i.  e.,  the  ttvelve  chains  of  rela- 
tion) for  the  sake  of  their  ozv7i  complete  Nirvana.  These  one  may 
say  to  be  those  who,  coveting  the  vehicle  of  the  Pratyekabuddha, 


64  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

sattvas  who  have  just  entered  their  course,  recognis- 
ing the  difference  between  subjectivity  and  the  trans- 
scending  of  subjectivity  both  in  essence  and  attri- 
butes, have  become  emancipated  from  the  coarse  form 
of  particularisation.  This  is  called  enlightenment  in 
appearance. 

Bodhisattvas  of  the  Dharmakaya,^  having  recog- 
nised that  subjectivity  and  the  transcending  of  sub- 
jectivity have  no  reality  of  their  own  [i.  e.,  are  rela- 
tive], have  become  emancipated  from  the  intermediate 
form  of  particularisation.  This  is  called  approximate 
enlightenment. 

Those  who  have  transcended  the  stage  of  Bodhi- 
sattvahood  and  attained  the  ultimate  goal,  possess  a 
consciousness  which  is   consistent   and   harmonious  ; 

fly  from  the  triple  world."  .  .  .  Those  who  belong  to  these  two 
classes  desire  to  achieve  only  the  salvation  of  their  own,  and  not 
that  of  all  mankind,  in  which  respect  Bodhisattvas  stand  far  supe- 
rior to  them.  We  read  in  the  same  Sutra  to  the  following  effect : 
"Others  again,  desirous  of  the  knowledge  of  the  all-knowing,  the 
knowledge  of  Buddha,  the  knowledge  of  the  self-born  one,  the  sci- 
ence without  a  master,  apply  themselves  to  the  commandment  of 
the  Tath^gata  to  learn  to  understand  the  knowledge,  powers,  and 
freedom  from  hesitation,  of  the  Tathdgata,  for  the  sake  of  the 
common  xveal  and  happuiess,  out  of  com-passion  to  the  zc'OJ'ld, 
for  the  benefit,  zveal,  and  happiriess  of  the  xvorld  at  large,  both 
gods  and  men,  for  the  sake  of  the  coinflete  A^irvdna  of  all  be- 
ings. These  one  may  say  to  be  those  who,  coveting  the  great 
vehicle  (mahayana),  fly  from  the  triple  world.  Therefore  they  are 
called  Bodhisattva  Mahasattva."     (The  italics  are  mine.) 

*  Those  who  have  recognised  the  all-prevailing  Dharmakiya, 
but  who  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  perfectly  identify  themselves 
with  it. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  65 

they  have  recognised  the  origin  from  which  conscious- 
ness [or  mentation]  starts.^  This  will  truly  be  called 
enlightenment. 

Having  transcended  the  attributes  of  enlighten- 
ment and  the  subtlest  form  of  particularisation,  they 
[i.  e.,  Buddhas]  have  gained  a  perfect  and  eternal  in- 
sight into  the  very  nature  of  the  soul  [i.  e.,  suchness], 
because  the  latter  now  presents  itself  to  them  in  its 
absolute  and  immutable  form.^  Therefore  they  are 
called  Tathagatas,  and  theirs  is  perfect  enlighten- 
ment ;  and  therefore  it  is  said  in  the  Sutra^  that  those 
who  have  an  insight  into  the  non-reality  of  all  subjec- 
tivity, attain  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Tathagata. 

In  the  preceding  statement  we  referred  to  the  origin 
from  which  consciousness  [or  mentation]  starts  ac- 
cording to  the  popular  expression.  In  truth  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  the  origin  of  consciousness  [or  men- 
tation] ;  for  consciousness  [being  purely  subjective] 
has  no  absolute  [but  only  a  phenomenal]  existence. 
How  can  we  then  speak  of  its  origin? 

The  multitude  of  people  {bahujana)  are  said  to  be 

^Consciousness,  i.  e.,  mentation  or  mental  activity,  is  tran- 
sient, it  takes  place  in  time,  and  must  not  be  confused  with  soul, 
or  suchness,  or  eternal  wisdom. 

2  In  the  older  translation  these  passages  are  somewhat  sim- 
plified. 

^  The  Latikdvatdra  Sfltra.  There  are  three  Chinese  transla- 
tions of  the  same  still  extant  among  the  Japanese  Tripitaka  col- 
lection :  (i)  by  Gunabhadra,  A.  D.  443,  four  fasciculi ;  (2)  by  Bo- 
dhiruci,  A.  D.  513,  ten  fasciculi;  (3)  by  Qiksh^nanda,  A.  D.  700- 
704,  seven  fasciculi 


66  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

lacking  in  enlightenment,  because  ignorance  {avidyd) 
prevails  there  from  all  eternity,  because  there  is  a 
constant  succession  of  confused  subjective  states 
{s?nrti)  from  which  they  have  never  been  emancipated. 

But  when  they  transcend  their  subjectivity,  they 
can  then  recognise  that  all  states  of  mentation,  viz., 
their  appearance,  presence,  change,  and  disappear- 
ance [in  the  field  of  consciousness]  have  no  [gen- 
uine] reality.^  They  are  neither  in  a  temporal  nor  in 
a  spatial  relation  with  the  one  soul,"-^  for  they  are  not 
self-existent. 

When  you  understand  this,  you  also  understand 
that  enlightenment  a  posteriori  cannot  be  manufac- 
tured, for  it  is  no  other  thing  than  enlightenment 
a  priori  [which  is  uncreate  and  must  be  discovered].^ 

And  again  enlightenment  a  priori,  when  impli- 
cated in  the  domain  of  defilement  [i.  e  ,  relativity], 
is  differentiated  into  two  kinds  of  attributes  : 

(i)  Pure  wisdom  {prajnd?)  ;  (2)  Incomprehensible 
activity  (^karma?).^ 

^  The  older  translation  differs  a  little,  but  agrees  in  the  main. 

2  The  older  translation  reads  :  "  The  four  states  of  mentation 
are  simultaneous  [they  belong  together  in  time,  i.  e.,  they  are  in 
uninterrupted  succession],  but  have  no  self-existence,  because  en- 
lightenment a /r/o?-z"  always  remains  in  its  sameness." 

^This  passage  is  wanting  in  the  older  translation. 

*  The  differentiation  of  enlightenment  into  two  distinct  qual- 
ities, wisdom  and  action,  or,  according  to  the  terminology  of  later 
Mahiy^nists,  wisdom  and  love,  constitutes  one  of  the  principal 
thoughts  of  the  Mahiy^na  Buddhism  and  shows  a  striking  sim- 
ilarity to  the  Christian  conception  of  God  who  is  considered  to  be 
full  of  infinite  love  and  wisdom. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  67 

By  pure  wisdom  we  understand  that  when  one, 
by  virtue  of  the  perfumin^i  power  of  the  Dharma,  dis- 
ciplines himself  truthfully  [i.  e.,  according  to  the 
Dharma],  and  accomplishes  meritorious  deeds,  the 
mind  [i.  e.,  dlaya-vijndna]  which  implicates  itself  with 
birth- and-death  will  be  broken  down,  and  the  modes 
of  the  evolving-consciousness^  will  be  annulled  ;  while 
the  pure  and  genuine  wisdom  of  the  Dharmakaya 
manifests  itself.^ 

Though  all  modes  of  consciousness  and  mentation 
are  mere  products  of  ignorance,  ignorance  in  its  ulti- 
mate nature  is  identical  and  not-identical^  with  en- 
lightenment a  priori ;  and  therefore  ignorance  in  one 
sense  is  destructible,  while  in  the  other  sense  it  is  in- 
destructible. 

This  may  be  illustrated  by  [the  simile  of]  the  water 
and  the  waves  which  are  stirred  up  in  the  ocean.  Here 
the  water  can  be  said  to  be  identical  [in  one  sense] 
and  not-identical  [in  the  other  sense] ^  with  the  waves. 
The  waves  are  stirred  up  by  the  wind,  but  the  water 
remains  the  same.  When  the  wind  ceases,  the  mo- 
tion of  the  waves  subsides  ;  but  the  water  remains 
the  same. 

^  This  term  will  be  explained  later  on.     See  p.  84. 

2  For  the  explanation  see  below,  p.  76. 

3  Note  that  the  Dharmakaya  is  not  the  "  Body  of  the  Law," 
but  suchness  {b  hit  tat  at  hat  d)  itself,  which  transcends  the  limits  of 
time  and  space  as  well  as  the  law  of  causation. 

*  Literally,  "  neither  identical  nor  not-identical." 
5 Literally,  "neither  identical  nor  not-identical." 


68  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

Likewise,  when  the  mind  of  all  creatures  which  in 
its  own  nature  is  pure  and  clean,  is  stirred  up  by  the 
wind  of  ignorance  (avidya),  the  waves  of  mentality 
{vijndnd)  make  their  appearance.  These  three  [i.  e., 
the  mind,  ignorance,  and  mentality],  however,  have 
no  [absolute]  existence,  and  they  are  neither  unity  nor 
plurality.^ 

But  the  mind  though  pure  in  its  essence  is  the 
source  of  the  awakened  [or  disturbed]  mentality. 
When  ignorance  is  annihilated,  the  awakened  men- 
tality is  tranquilised,  whilst  the  essence  of  the  wisdom 
remains  unmolested.'^ 

Incomprehensible  activity  which  we  know  proceeds 
from  pure  wisdom,  uninterruptedly  produces  all  ex- 
cellent spiritual  states.  That  is  to  say,  the  person- 
ality {kdya)  of  the  Tathagata,^  which  in  exuberance 
contains  immeasurable  and  ever-growing  merits,  re- 
veals itself  to  all  beings  according  to  their  various 
predispositions  [or  characters],  and  accomplishes  for 
them  innumerable  [spiritual]  benefits. 

Further  there  is  a  fourfold  significance  in  the  na- 

^  That  is,  they  are  one  in  one  sense,  but  different  in  the  other 
sense. 

2  In  the  older  translation  the  last  two  paragraphs  read  : 

"Likewise  the  mind  of  all  beings  though  clean  and  pure  in  its 
own  nature  is  disturbed  [or  awakened]  through  the  wind  of  ignor- 
ance. Neither  the  mind  nor  ignorance  has  any  form  and  attribute 
[of  its  own].  They  condition  each  other.  But  the  mind  itself 
not  being  the  principle  of  disturbance  its  movability  will  cease 
when  ignorance  is  gone,  though  its  essence,  wisdom,  remains  un- 
molested." 

^  Or  the  Tathclgatagarbha. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  69 

ture  of  enlightenment  whose  purity  may  be  likened 
unto  space  or  a  bright  mirror. 

The  first  great  significance  which  may  be  likened 
unto  space  and  a  bright  mirror,  is  trueness  as  nega- 
tion (<^unyatd),  in  the  sense  that  enlightenment  is  ab- 
solutely unobtainable  by  any  modes  of  relativity  or  by 
any  outward  signs  of  enlightenment. 

The  second  great  significance  which  may  be  likened 
unto  space  and  a  bright  mirror,  is  trueness  as  affirma- 
tion (acunyata),  in  the  sense  that  all  things  [in  their 
ultimate  nature]  are  perfect  and  complete,  and  not 
subject  to  destruction  ;  in  the  sense  that  all  events  in 
the  phenomenal  world  are  reflected  in  enlightenment, 
so  that  they  neither  pass  out  of  it,  nor  enter  into  it, 
and  that  they  neither  disappear  nor  are  destroyed  ; 
that  they  are  in  one  eternal  and  immutable  soul  which 
by  none  of  the  defiled  things  can  be  defiled  and  whose 
wisdom-essence  enveloping  immeasurable  and  innu- 
merable merits,  becomes  the  cause  of  perfuming  the 
minds  of  all  beings. 

The  third  great  significance  which  may  be  likened 
unto  space  and  a  bright  mirror,  is  the  affirmation  as 
free  from  the  hindrances  {avarana)^  in  the  sense  that 
enlightenment  is  forever  cut  off  from  the  hindrances 
both  affectional  {kle^dvarana)  and  intellectual  (Jneyd- 
varana),  as  well  as  from  the  mind  [i.  e.,  dlaya-vijndna] 
which  implicates  itself  with  birth-and-death,  since  it 
is  in  its  true  nature  clean,  pure,  eternal,  calm,  and 
immutable. 


70  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

The  fourth  great  significance  which  may  be  likened 
unto  space  and  a  bright  mirror,  is  the  affirmation  as 
unfolding  itself,  in  the  sense  that  on  account  of  a  lib- 
eration from  the  hindrances,  it  transforms  and  unfolds 
itself,  wherever  conditions  are  favorable,  in  the  form 
of  a  Tathagata  or  in  some  other  forms,  in  order  that 
all  beings  might  be  induced  thereby  to  bring  their 
root^  of  merit  {ku(;ala7tmld)  to  maturity. ^ 

By  the  so-called  non-enlightenment,  we  mean  that 
as  the  true  Dharma  [i.  e. ,  suchness]  is  from  all  etern- 
ity not  truthfully  recognised  in  its  oneness,  there  is- 
sues forth  an  unenlightened  mind  and  then  subjectiv- 
ity {smrii).  But  this  subjectivity  has  no  self-existence 
independent  of  enlightenment  a  priori. 

To  illustrate  :  a  man  who  is  lost  goes  astray  be- 
cause he  is  bent  on  pursuing  a  certain  direction  ;  and 
his  confusion  has  no  valid  foundation  other  than  that 
he  is  bent  on  a  certain  direction. 

It  is  even  the  same  with  all  beings.    They  become 

^  Max  Miiller  renders  the  term  by  ' '  stock  of  merit, "  but  I  think 
"stock"  is  not  very  fitly  adopted  to  denote  the  sense  usually  at- 
tached to  it  by  Buddhists.  According  to  them,  karma,  be  it  meri- 
torious or  not-meritorious,  has  an  efficient  power  to  bear  the  fruit; 
therefore  every  act  done  by  us  like  the  root  of  a  plant  has  a  regen- 
erative force  potentially  reserved  within  itself,  and  does  not,  like  a 
stock  of  things  which  are  not  necessarily  alive,  remain  dormant 
lacking  productive  powers  in  it. 

2  According  to  the  older  translation,  the  first  significance  is 
called  the  ' '  mirror  of  transcendental  (or  empty)  trueness"  ;  the  sec- 
ond, the  "mirror  of  the  perfuming  principle";  the  third,  the 
"  mirror  of  the  dharma  of  liberation  "  ;  and  the  fourth,  the  "mir- 
ror of  the  perfuming  cause." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  71 

unenlightened,  foster  their  subjectivity  and  go  astray, 
because  they  are  bent  on  enlightenment.  But  non- 
enlightenment  has  no  existence  of  its  own,  aside  from 
its  relation  with  enlightenment  a  priori.  And  as  en- 
lightenment a  priori  is  spoken  of  only  in  contrast  to 
non-enlightenment,  and  as  non-enlightenment  is  a 
non-entity,  true  enlightenment  in  turn  loses  its  sig- 
nificance too.  [That  is  to  say,  they  are  simply  rela- 
tive.] 

In  blindness^  there  arose  non-enlightenment  of 
which  three  aspects  are  to  be  noted.  These  three  are 
not  independent. 

The  first  aspect  is  ignorant  action  {avidyakarma?).^ 
A  disturbance^  of  the  mind  [i.  e. ,  dlaya-vijiidna]  caused 
by  non-enlightenment  characterises  the  beginning  of 
karma.     When  enlightened,  the  mind  is  no  more  dis- 

^  Rather  "carelessness."  This  is  missing  in  the  older  trans- 
lation. 

2 The  term  "ignorant  action"  reminds  us  of  Schopenhauer's 
"  blind  will  "  and  we  might  translate  the  Chinese  terms  ;pu  chiao 
•^^  ignorant  or  unconscious,  by  "blind."  On  the  other  hand, 
the  expression  reminds  one  of  Goethe's  words  in  Faust:  ' '  Im  Anfang 
war  die  That,"  i.  e.,  in  the  beginning  there  was  karma;  and  this 
karma  starting  in  an  unenlightened  condition  was  blind  or  ignor- 
ant, it  was  as  yet  unconscious  of  its  goal  which  is  the  attainment 
of  the  eternal  truth,  the  discovery  of  enlightenment  a  ^priori.  Cf. 
also  the  Chdyidogya  Upafiisad,  VI,  2. 

^  By  "disturbance"  is  meant  that  the  mind  or  soul,  awaking 
from  a  state  of  perfect  sameness  and  tranquillity,  discriminates  the 
subject  and  the  object,  me  and  not-me.  The  "disturbance"  it- 
self, however,  is  neither  good  nor  bad  ;  the  fault  lies  in  clinging 
to  this  dual  aspect  of  existence  as  absolute,  utterly  ignoring  their 
fundamental  identity.  Efface  the  clinging  from  your  mind,  and 
you  are  purified  and  saved. 


72  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

turbed.  But  by  its  disturbance  misery  {duhkha)  is 
produced  according  to  the  law  of  causation. 

The  second  aspect  is  that  which  perceives  [i.  e., 
the  ego  or  subject].  In  consequence  of  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  mind  there  originates  that  which  perceives 
an  external  world.  When  the  mind  is  not  disturbed, 
perception  does  not  take  place. 

The  third  aspect  is  the  external  world.  Through 
perception  an  unreal  external  world  originates.  Inde- 
pendent of  that  which  perceives  [i.  e.,  the  ego  or  sub- 
ject], there  is  no  surrounding  world  [or  the  object].^ 

Conditioned  by  the  unreal  external  world,  six  kinds 
of  phenomena  arise  in  succession. 

The  first  phenomenon  is  intelligence  [i.  e.,  sensa- 
tion]. Being  affected  by  the  external  world  the  mind 
becomes  conscious  of  the  difference  between  the  agree- 
able and  the  disagreeable. 

The  second  phenomenon  is  succession  [i.  e.,  mem- 
ory]. Following  upon  intelligence,  memory  retains 
the  sensations  agreeable  as  well  as  disagreeable  in  a 
continuous  succession  of  subjective  states. 

The  third  phenomenon  is  clinging.  Through  the 
retention  and  succession  of  sensations  agreeable  as 
well  as  disagreeable,  there  arises  the  desire  of  cling- 
ing. 

The  fourth  phenomenon  is  an  attachment  to  names 

^  This  is  the  idealistic  phase  of  the  Mah^ydna  Buddhism. 
Berkeley  says:  "Take  away  the  perceiving  mind  and  you  take 
away  the  objective  world." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  73 

[or  ideas,  sa7njna],  etc.^  By  clinging  the  mind  hy- 
postasises  all  names  whereby  to  give  definitions  to  all 
things. 

The  fifth  phenomenon  is  the  performance  of  deeds 
{kar77id).  On  account  of  attachment  to  names,  etc., 
there  arise  all  the  variations  of  deeds,  productive  of 
individuality. 

The  sixth  phenomenon  is  the  suffering  due  to  the 
fetter  of  deeds.  Through  deeds  suffering  arises  in 
which  the  mind  finds  itself  entangled  and  curtailed  of 
its  freedom. 

Be  it  therefore  known  that  all  defiled  things  do 
not  exist  by  themselves,  for  all  of  them  have  arisen 
from  ignorance. 

Now  there  is  a  twofold  relation  between  enlighten- 
ment and  non-enlightenment:  (i)  identity  ;  (2)  non- 
identity. 

The  relation  of  identity  may  be  illustrated  by  the 

^  Here  is  again  a  strange  agreement  with  Western  philosophy. 
The  nominalists  speak  of  names  as  merejiatus  vocis  and  the  things- 
in-themselves  (i.  e.,  what  is  conceived  by  names)  are  declared  to 
be  unknowable  by  Kant.  Dr.  Paul  Cams  goes  one  step  further  by 
declaring  that  there  are  no  things-in-themselves,  but  forms-in- 
themselves,  viz.,  the  eternal  types  of  beings  or  Plato's  ideas.  The 
clinging  to  names  is  based  on  the  metaphysical  error  of  interpret- 
ing names  as  entities  or  things-in-themselves,  which  exhibits  the 
nominalistic  phase  of  Buddhism.  On  the  other  hand,  the  strong 
emphasis  laid  on  the  reality  of  suchness,  or  what  Dr.  Cams  calls 
the  purely  formal,  shows  the  realistic  phase  of  Buddhism.  The 
word  "  hypostasises  "  used  in  the  next  passage  means  literally  in 
the  younger  translation  "  firmly  builds  a  basis  for,"  in  the  older 
one  we  read  literally  '  *  one  sets  separately  forth  what  is  unreal, 
i.  e.,  names  and  words." 


74  a^vaghosha's 

simile  of  all  kinds  of  pottery  which  though  different 
are  all  made  of  the  same  clay.  Likewise  the  undefiled 
{andp'ava)^  and  ignorance  {avidyd)  and  their  various 
transcient  forms  come  all  from  one  and  the  same  en- 
tity. Therefore  Buddha  teaches^  that  all  beings  are 
from  all  eternity  ever  abiding  in  Nirvana.^  In  truth 
enlightenment  cannot  be  manufactured,  nor  can  it  be 
created  ;  it  is  absolutely  intangible  ;  it  is  no  material 
existence  that  is  an  object  of  sensation. 

The  reason  why  enlightenment  nevertheless  as- 
sumes tangible  material  form  is  that  it  suffers  defile- 
ment^ which  is  the  source  of  all  transient  forms  of 
manifestation.  Wisdom  itself  has  nothing  to  do  with 
material  phenomena  whose  characteristic   feature  is 

1 A  dharma  not  subject  to  the  transformation  of  birth  and 
death  is  called  M'^  rvu  lou  in  Chinese  and  a7ic1(rava  in  Sanskrit. 
It  is  commonly  used  in  contrast  to  M  '^  yu  lou  and  sd^rava,  which 
means  "defiled"  or  "conditional." 

2  This  teaching  is  set  forth  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Vima- 
laktrtinirdefa  Siltra,  one  of  the  most  popular  Mahayana  texts  in 
China  as  well  as  in  Japan.  There  are  several  Chinese  translations 
still  extant,  the  earliest  of  which  was  produced  during  the  first 
half  of  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

^  Observe  that  Nirvana  is  here  used  as  a  synonym  of  suchness 
{hhfllatathatd). 

*That  is  to  say,  being  mixed  up  in  the  material  world.  "  De- 
filement"  does  not  necessarily  mean  evil  or  immorality.  Anything 
that  does  not  come  directly  from  the  fountain-head  of  suchness, 
but  is  in  some  way  or  other  "perfumed"  by  ignorance,  the  prin- 
ciple of  individuation,  is  called  defiled  or  impure.  From  the  eth- 
ical point  of  view  it  may  be  good  or  bad,  according  to  our  subjec- 
tive attitude  towards  it.  All  that  should  be  avoided  is  a  clinging 
to  the  phenomenal  existence. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  75 

extension  in  space,  and  there  are  no  attributes  there 
by  which  wisdom  can  become  tangible.  This  is  the 
meaning  of  Buddha's  brief  statement  just  referred  to. 

The  relation  of  non-identity  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  difference  that  obtains  among  the  various  kinds 
of  pottery.  The  relation  among  the  undefiled  and 
ignorance  and  their  various  transient  forms  of  mani- 
festation is  similar  to  it. 

And  again,  by  the  law  of  causation  {Jietupratyayd) 
in  the  domain  of  birth-and- death  {sanisdrd)  we  mean 
that  depending  on  the  mind  [i.  e.,  a  I  ay  a- vij nana]  an 
evolution  of  the  ego  {nianas')  and  consciousness  {vij- 
ndnaY  takes  place  in  all  beings. 

What  is  meant  by  this? 

In  the  all-conserving  mind  {alaya-vijndna)  ignor- 
ance obtains;  and  from  the  non-enlightenment  starts 
that  which  sees,  that  which  represents,  that  which 
apprehends  an  objective  world,  and  that  which  con- 
stantly particularises.     This  is  called  the  ego  (manas). 

^Manovijndna  in  the  older  translation.  Now  vijndna  (or 
mayiovijndna) ,  manas  and  citta  are  to  a  certain  extent  synonym- 
ous and  interchangeable,  as  all  designating  that  which  feels,  thinks 
and  wills,  or  what  is  commonly  called  mind.  According  to  a  gen- 
eral interpretation  of  Mahayanists,  the  following  distinction  is 
made  among  them  :  citta,  mind,  is  more  fundamental,  somehow 
corresponding  to  the  conception  of  the  soul,  for  it  has  the  inherent 
capacity  for  ideation  as  well  as  for  the  power  of  storing  up  within 
itself  the  results  of  experience  ;  the  most  characteristic  feature  of 
the  ma7ias,  the  ego,  is  to  constantly  reflect  on  itself  and  to  un- 
consciously assert  the  existence  of  the  ego;  the  vijndna,  conscious- 
ness, is  principally  the  faculty  of  feeling,  perceiving,  discriminat- 
ing, judging,  etc.,  in  short,  general  mental  activity  or  consciousness. 


76  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

Five  different  names  are  given  to  the  ego  [accord- 
ing to  its  different  modes  of  operation]. 

The  first  name  is  activity-consciousness  {^Karma- 
vijndna?')  in  the  sense  that  through  the  agency  of  ig- 
norance an  unenlightened  mind  begins  to  be  disturbed 
[or  awakened]. 

The  second  name  is  evolving-consciousness  \_pra- 
vrtti-vijndfia,  i.  e.,  the  subject],  in  the  sense  that  when 
the  mind  is  disturbed,  there  evolves  that  which  sees 
an  external  world. 

The  third  name  is  representation-consciousness, 
in  the  sense  that  the  ego  {inanas')  represents  [or  re- 
flects] an  external  world.  As  a  clean  mirror  reflects 
the  images  of  all  description,  it  is  even  so  with  the 
representation-consciousness.  When  it  is  confronted, 
for  instance,  with  the  five  objects  of  sense,  it  repre- 
sents them  at  once,  instantaneously,  and  without  any 
effort. 

The  fourth  name  is  particularisation-consclous- 
ness,  in  the  sense  that  it  discriminates  between  differ- 
ent things  defiled  as  well  as  pure. 

The  fifth  name  is  succession-consciousness  [i.  e., 
memory],  in  the  sense  that  continuously  directed  b}'- 
the  awakening  consciousness  [or  attention,  7nanaska?-a'] 
it  [tfianas']  retains  and  never  loses  or  suffers  the  de- 
struction of  any  karma,  good  as  well  as  evil,  which 
had  been  sown  in  the  past,  and  whose  retribution, 
painful  as  well  as  agreeable,  it  never  fails  to  mature, 
be  it  in  the  present  or  in  the  future  ;  and  also  in  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  77 

sense  that  it  unconsciously  recollects  things  gone  by, 
and  in  imagination  anticipates  things  to  come. 

Therefore  the  three  domains^  {iriloka)  are  nothing 
but  the  self-manifestation  of  the  mind  [i.  e.,  dlaya- 
vijndna  which  is  practically  identical  with  suchness, 
bhzltatathata].'^  Separated  from  the  mind,  there  would 
be  no  such  things  as  the  six  objects  of  sense. 

Why? 

Since  all  things,  owing  the  principle  of  their  ex- 
istence to  the  mind  {alaya-vijndnd),  are  produced  by 
subjectivity  {srnrti'),  all  the  modes  of  particularisation 
are  the  self-particularisation  of  the  mind.  The  mind 
in  itself  [or  the  soul]  being,  however,  free  from  all 
attributes,  is  not  differentiated.  Therefore  we  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  all  things  and  conditions  in  the 
phenomenal  world,  hypostasised  and  established  only 
through  ignorance  {avidya)  and  subjectivity  {s7nrti^ 
on  the  part  of  all  beings,  have  no  more  reality  than 
the.  images  in  a  mirror.^     They  evolve  simply  from 

^  They  are  :  (i)  Domain  of  feeling  {kdmaloka);  (2)  Domain  of 
bodily  existence  {rUpaloka);  (3)  Domain  of  incorporeality  {arUj^a- 
loka). 

2  The  mind  or  dlaya-viJ7idna  is  suchness  (or,  as  Dr.  Cams 
would  say,  "purely  formal  thought,")  in  its  operation,  where  it 
may  be  called  the  rational  principle  in  nature  or  the  Gesetzmds- 
sigkeit  of  the  cosmos.  It  manifests  itself  not  only  in  human  rea- 
son, but  appears  also  as  the  principle  of  individuation,  determin- 
ing all  particular  forms  of  existence,  as  will  be  explained  in  the 
following  lines. 

^  Compare  Schopenhauer's  conception  of  the  world  as  Vor- 
stellung. 


78  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

the  ideality  of  a  particularising  mind.  When  the  mind 
is  disturbed,  the  multiplicity  of  things  is  produced; 
but  when  the  mind  is  quieted,  the  multiplicity  of 
things  disappears. 

By  ego-consciousness  {fnanovijndna)  we  mean  that 
all  ignorant  minds  through  their  succession- conscious- 
ness cling  to  the  conception  of  /  and  noi-I  [i.  e. ,  a 
separate  objective  world]  and  misapprehend  the  na- 
ture of  the  six  objects  of  sense.  The  ego-conscious- 
ness is  also  called  separation-consciousness,  or  phe- 
nomena-particularising-consciousness,  because  it  is 
nourished  by  the  perfuming^  influence  of  the  preju- 
dices {dprava),  intellectual  as  well  as  affectional. 

The  mind  [or  consciousness,  vijndna\  that  starts 
from  the  perfuming  influence  of  ignorance  which  has 
no  beginning  cannot  be  comprehended  by  the  intel- 
lect of  common  people  {prthagjana),  (Jravakas  and 
Pratyekabuddhas. 

It  is  partially  comprehended  by  those  Bodhisattvas 
at  the  stage  of  knowledge-and-practice,  who  discipline 
themselves,  practise  contemplation  and  become  the 
Bodhisattvas  of  the  Dharmakaya ;  while  even  those 
who  have  reached  the  highest  stage  of  Bodhisattva- 
hood  cannot  thoroughly  comprehend  it. 

The  only  one  who  can  have  a  clear  and  consum- 
mate knowledge  of  it  is  the  Tathagata.'^ 

*  The  term  will  be  explained  later. 

2  The  same  idea  is  expressed  in  the  Crtm6M  Sfilra  as  well  as 
in  the  Lankdvatara  Siltra  where  Buddha  preaches  the  unfathom- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  79 

Why? 

While  the  essence  of  the  mind  is  eternally  clean 
and  pure,  the  influence  of  ignorance  makes  possible 
the  existence  of  a  defiled  mind.  But  in  spite  of  the 
defiled  mind,  the  mind  [itself]  is  eternal,  clear,  pure, 
and  not  subject  to  transformation. 

Further  as  its  original  nature  is  free  from  particu- 
larisation,  it  knows  in  itself  no  change  whatever, 
though  it  produces  everywhere  the  various  modes  of 
existence. 

When  the  oneness  of  the  totality  of  things  {dharma- 
dhdtu)  is  not  recognised,  then  ignorance  as  well  as 
particularisation  arises,  and  all  phases  of  the  defiled 
mind  are  thus  developed.  But  the  significance  of  this 
doctrine  is  so  extremely  deep  and  unfathomable  that 

ableness  of  the  nature  of  suchness  which,  though  pure  in  its  es- 
sence, is  yet  subject  to  defilement  or  conditionality, — the  mystery 
that  can  be  comprehended  only  by  a  fully  enlightened  mind.  Re- 
ferring to  this  incomprehensibility  of  the  relation  of  suchness  and 
ignorance,  let  me  quote  what  Herbert  Spencer  says  in  his  First 
Princi;ples  (American  ed.,  p.  45):  "  For  every  religion,  setting  out 
though  it  does  with  tacit  assertion  of  a  mystery,  forthwith  proceeds 
to  give  some  solution  of  this  mystery  ;  and  so  asserts  that  it  is  not 
a  mystery  passing  human  comprehension.  But  an  examination  of 
the  solutions  they  severally  propose,  shows  them  to  be  uniformly 
invalid.  The  analysis  of  every  possible  hypothesis  proves,  not 
simply  that  no  hypothesis  is  sufficient,  but  that  no  hypothesis  is 
even  thinkable.  And  thus  the  mystery  which  all  religions  recog- 
nise, turns  out  to  be  a  far  more  transcendent  mystery  than  any  of 
them  suppose — not  a  relative,  but  an  absolute  mystery."  Is  not 
the  relation  of  suchness  and  ignorance  the  very  mystery  to  which 
Spencer  makes  the  allusion  here  ?  Ajvaghosha's  solution  is  that 
only  Buddha  can  grasp  it. 


8o  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

it  can  be  fully  comprehended  by  Buddhas  and  by  no 
others.  Now  there  are  six  different  phases  of  the 
defiled^  mind  thus  developed  : 

1.  Interrelated  [or  secondary]  defilement  by  at- 
tachment, from  which  Qravakas,  Pratyekabuddhas 
and  those  Bodhisattvas  at  the  stage  of  faith-adapta- 
tion can  be  freed. 

2.  Interrelated  [or  secondary]  defilement  by  suc- 
cession, from  which  Bodhisattvas  with  strenuous  efforts 
at  the  stage  of  faith,  can  partially  be  freed,  and  at  the 
stage  of  pure-heartedness,  completely. 

3.  Interrelated  [or  secondary]  defilement  by  the 
particularising  intelligence,  from  which  Bodhisattvas 
are  gradually  freed  during  their  advancement  from  the 
stage  of  morality  to  the  stage  of  wisdom,  while  upon 
reaching  the  stage  of  spirituality,  they  are  eternally 
freed  from  it. 

4.  Non-interrelated  [or  primary]  defilement  by  be- 


^  The  defilement  which  is  the  product  of  the  evolution  of  the 
dlaya-vijnd7ia,  is  of  two  kinds,  primary  and  secondary.  The  pri- 
mary defilement  is  a  friori,  originating  with  the  birth  of  the  mind. 
There  is  as  yet  no  distinct  consciousness  in  it  of  the  duality  of  the 
subject  and  the  object,  though  this  is  of  course  tacitly  asserted. 
A9vaghosha  calls  the  primary  defilement  ' '  non-interrelated, "  mean- 
ing that  there  is  no  deliberate  reflexion  in  the  ego  to  assert  itself. 
The  secondary  defilement  called  "  interrelated  "  on  the  other  hand 
explicitly  assumes  the  ego  in  contradistinction  to  the  non-ego  and 
firmly  clings  to  this  conception,  which  brings  forth  all  selfish  de- 
sires and  actions  on  the  part  of  the  defiled  mind.  The  former 
being  more  fundamental  than  the  latter  is  completely  effaced  from 
the  mind  only  after  going  through  all  different  stages  of  religious 
discipline. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH  8l 

lief  in  an  external  world,  which  can  be  exterminated 
at  the  stage  of  matter-emancipation. 

5.  Non-interrelated  [or  primary]  defilement  by  be- 
lief in  a  perceiving  mind,  which  can  be  exterminated 
at  the  stage  of  mind-emancipation. 

6.  Non-interrelated  [or  primary]  defilement  by  the 
fundamental  activity,  which  can  be  exterminated  in 
entering  upon  the  stage  of  Tathagatahood,  passing 
through  the  highest  stage  of  Bodhisattvahood. 

From  not  recognising  the  oneness  of  the  totality 
of  things  {dharmadhdtu)y  Bodhisattvas  can  partially 
be  liberated  by  passing  first  from  the  stage  of  faith 
and  the  stage  of  contemplation  to  the  stage  of  pure- 
heartedness ;  while  when  they  enter  upon  the  stage 
of  Tathagatahood,  they  can  once  for  all  put  an  end 
[to  the  illusion]. 

By  ''interrelated"  we  mean  that  there  is  [in  this 
case]  a  distinction  [or  consciousness  of  a  duality]  be- 
tween the  mind  in  itself  and  particularisation,  that 
there  is  [here]  a  distinction  [or  consciousness  of  a 
duality]  between  the  defiled  and  the  pure,  [and  there- 
fore] that  there  is  [here]  an  interrelation  between  that 
which  perceives  and  that  which  determines. 

By  "non-interrelated"  we  mean  that  the  mind  [in 
this  case]  is  perfectly  identified  with  non-enlighten- 
ment, so  that  there  is  no  distinction  [or  consciousness 
of  a  duality]  between  these  two,  [and  therefore]  that 
there  is  no  consciousness  of  interrelation  between  that 
which  perceives  and  that  which  determines. 


82  a^vaghosha's 

The  defiled  mind  is  called  affectional  hindrance 
{kle^dvarana),  because  it  obscures  the  fundamental 
wisdom  of  suchness  {bh2ltatathata~).  Ignorance  is  called 
intellectual  hindrance  {Jnejdvarand),  because  it  ob- 
scures the  spontaneous  exercise  of  wisdom  from  which 
evolve  all  modes  of  activity  in  the  world. 

What  is  meant  by  this? 

On  account  of  the  defiled  mind  attachment  affirms 
itself  in  innumerable  ways  ;  and  there  arises  a  dis- 
tinction [or  consciousness]  between  that  which  appre- 
hends and  that  which  is  apprehended.  Thus  believ- 
ing in  the  external  world  produced  by  subjectivity, 
the  mind  becomes  oblivious  of  the  principle  of  same- 
ness {samatd)  that  underlies  all  things. 

The  essence  of  all  things  is  one  and  the  same,  per- 
fectly calm  and  tranquil,  and  shows  no  sign  of  be- 
coming ;  ignorance,  however,  is  in  its  blindness  and 
delusion  oblivious  of  enlightenment,  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, cannot  recognise  truthfully  all  those  conditions, 
differences,  and  activities  which  characterise  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  universe. 

Further  we  distinguish  two  phases  of  the  self- 
manifestation  of  the  mind  [i.  e.,  dlaya-vijiidna,  under 
the  law  of  causation]  as  birth- and-death  {sa7}isdrd). 
The  first  is  the  cruder  phase,  being  the  state  of  an  in- 
terrelated mind  ;  the  second  is  the  more  refined  phase, 
being  the  state  of  a  non-interrelated  mind.  The  crud- 
est phase  is  the  subjective  condition  of  common  peo- 
ple (^prtha^jana~)\   the   more    refined   of   the   crude   or 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  83 

the  cruder  of  the  refined  is  the  subjective  state  of  a 
Bodhisattva.^  These  two  phases  [of  the  dlaya-vijndna 
as  the  principle  of  birth-and-death]  originate  through 
the  perfuming  power  of  ignorance. 

The  birth-and-death  {savisdra)  has  its  raison  d'etre 
(Jieiu)  and  its  cause  [or  condition,  pratyaya\.  Non- 
enlightenment  is  the  raison  d'etre,  and  the  external 
world  as  produced  by  subjectivity  is  the  condition. 
When  the  raison  d'etre  is  annihilated,  the  condition  is 
annihilated  [i.  e.,  loses  its  conditioning  power].  When 
the  condition  is  annihilated,  the  state  of  an  interrelated 
mind  is  annihilated.  When  the  raison  d'etre  is  annihi- 
lated, the  state  of  a  non-interrelated  mind  [too]  is 
annihilated. 

It  may  be  asked :  If  the  mind  be  annihilated,  how 
can  there  be  mentation?  If  mentation  really  occurs, 
how  can  there  be  annihilation? 

In  reply  we  say  that  while  the  objection  is  well 
founded,  we  understand  by  the  annihilation,  not  that 
of  the  mind  itself,  but  of  its  modes  [only]. 

To  illustrate :  the  water  shows  the  symptoms  of 
disturbance  when  stirred  up  by  the  wind.  Have  the 
wind  annihilated,  and  the  symptoms  of  disturbance 
on  the  water  will  also  be  annihilated,  the  water  itself 
remaining  the  same.  Let  the  water  itself,  however, 
be  annihilated,  the  symptoms  of  disturbance  would 
no    more  be    perceptible;    because    there  is  nothing 

^  The  older  translation  adds  :  The  most  refined  of  the  refined 
is  the  spiritual  state  of  a  Buddha. 


84  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

there  through  which  it  can  show  itself.  Only  so  long 
as  the  water  is  not  annihilated,  the  symptoms  of  dis- 
turbance may  continue. 

It  is  even  the  same  with  all  beings.  Through 
ignorance  their  minds  become  disturbed.  Let  ignor- 
ance be  annihilated,  and  the  symptom  of  disturbance 
will  also  be  annihilated,  while  the  essence  of  the  mind 
[i.  e.,  suchness]  remains  the  same.  Only  if  the  mind 
itself  were  annihilated,  then  all  beings  would  cease  to 
exist,  because  there  would  be  nothing  there  by  which 
they  could  manifest  themselves.  But  so  long  as  the 
mind  be  not  annihilated,  its  disturbance  may  continue. 

A  constant  production  of  things  defiled  and  pure  is 
taking  place  on  account  of  the  inter-perfuming  of  the 
four  different  powers  which  are  as  follows :  the  first  is 
the  pure  dharma,  that  is,  suchness  {bhuiatathaia)\  the 
second  is  the  principle  of  defilement,  that  is,  ignor- 
ance {avidyd)\  the  third  is  the  subjective  mind,  that 
is,  activity-consciousness  (/^^;'w^t7yV7il;/<?.?) ;  the  fourth 
is  the  external  world  {vishayd)  of  subjectivity,  that  is, 
the  six  objects  of  sense. 

By  ''perfuming"  we  mean  that  while  our  worldly 
clothes  [viz.,  those  which  we  wear]  have  no  odor  of 
their  own,  neither  offensive  nor  agreeable,  they  acquire 
one  or  the  other  according  to  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
stance with  which  they  are  perfumed. 

Now  suchness  is  a  pure  dharma  free  from  defile- 
ment. It  acquires,  however,  a  quality  of  defilement 
owing  to  the  perfuming  power  of  ignorance.      On  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  85 

other  hand,  ignorance  has  nothing  to  do  with  purity. 
Nevertheless,  we  speak  of  its  being  able  to  do  the 
work  of  purity,  because  it  in  its  turn  is  perfumed  by 
suchness. 

How  are  defiled  things  continually  produced  by 
perfuming? 

Determined  by  suchness  [in  its  relative  aspect], 
ignorance  becomes  the  raison  d^eti-e  of  all  forms  of 
defilement.  And  this  ignorance  perfumes  suchness, 
and,  by  perfuming  suchness,  it  produces  subjectivity 
{s7nrti).  This  subjectivity  in  its  turn  perfumes  ignor- 
ance. On  account  of  this  [reciprocal]  perfuming,  the 
truth  is  misunderstood.  On  account  of  its  being  mis- 
understood, an  external  world  of  subjectivity  appears 
[viz.,  a  conception  of  particulars  as  particulars]. 
Further,  on  account  of  the  perfuming  power  of  sub- 
jectivity, various  modes  of  individuation  are  produced. 
And  by  clinging  to  them,  various  deeds  are  done,  and 
we  suffer  as  the  result  miseries,  mentally  as  well  as 
bodily. 

There  are  two  senses  in  what  we  call  ''the  per- 
fuming power  of  the  external  world  of  subjectivity'*: 
(i)  that  which  strengthens  particularisation  ;i  (2)  that 
which  strengthens  attachment. 

There  are  again  two  senses  in  what  we  call  ''the 
perfuming  power  of  the  subjective  mind":   (i)  that 

^The  older  translation  has  "subjectivity"  instead  of  "  par- 
ticularisation."  These  two  terms  are  synonymous  and  frequently 
interchanged  in  the  later  translation  as  well  as  in  the  older  one. 


86  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

which  strengthens  the  fundamental  activity-conscious- 
ness, whereby  Arhats,  Pratyekabuddhas  and  Bodhi- 
sattvas  are  subject  to  the  miseries  of  birth  and  death ; 
(2)  that  which  strengthens  the  phenomena-particu- 
larising-consciousness,  whereby  all  common  people 
{^prthagja7ia)  are  subject  to  the  miseries  of  being  fet- 
tered by  prior  deeds  {karma). 

There  are  also  two  senses  in  what  we  call  "the 
perfuming  power  of  ignorance":  (i)  a  fundamental 
perfuming,  in  the  sense  that  the  activity-consciousness 
is  thereby  actualised ;  (2)  a  perfuming  of  intellect  and 
affection,  in  the  sense  that  the  phenomena-particular- 
ising-consciousness  is  thereby  actualised. 

How  are  pure  things  constantly  produced  by  per- 
fuming? 

Suchness  perfumes  ignorance,  and  in  consequence 
of  this  perfuming  the  mind  involved  in  subjectivity  is 
caused  to  loathe  the  misery  of  birth  and  death  ^  and 
to  seek  after  the  blessing  of  Nirvana.  This  longing 
and  loathing  on  the  part  of  the  subjective  mind  in 
turn  perfumes  suchness.  On  account  of  this  perfum- 
ing influence  we  are  enabled  to  believe  that  we  are  in 
possession  within  ourselves  of  suchness  whose  essen- 
tial nature  is  pure  and  immaculate ;  and  we  also  rec- 
ognise that  all  phenomena  in  the  world  are  nothing 
but  the  illusory  manifestation  of  the  mind  {alaya- 
vijndnd)  and  have  no  reality  of  their  own.     Since  we 

^  Birth  and  death  do  not  necessarily  refer  to  our  life  only,  but 
in  their  widest  sense  to  the  phenomenal  world. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  87 

thus  rightly  understand  the  truth,  we  can  practise  the 
means  of  liberation,  can  perform  those  actions  which 
are  in  accordance  [with  the  Dharma].  Neither  do 
we  particularise,  nor  cling  to.  By  virtue  of  this  dis- 
cipline and  habituation  during  the  lapse  of  innumer- 
able asamkhyeyakalpas,^  we  have  ignorance  annihi- 
lated. 

As  ignorance  is  thus  annihilated,  the  mind  [i.  e. , 
dlaya-vijndfia]  is  no  more  disturbed  so  as  to  be  sub- 
ject to  individuation.  As  the  mind  is  no  more  dis- 
turbed, the  particularisation  of  the  surrounding  world 
is  annihilated.  When  in  this  wise  the  principle  and 
the  condition  of  defilement,  their  products,  and  the 
mental  disturbances  are  all  annihilated,  it  is  said  that 
we  attain  to  Nirvana  and  that  various  spontaneous 
displays  of  activity  are  accomplished.^ 

^  Literally,  countless  ages,  but  it  has  a  technical  meaning. 
Childer's  Pali  Dictionary,  sub  voce  :  "  The  term  kalfa  is  given  to 
certain  vast  periods  or  cycles  of  time,  of  which  there  are  three, 
Mahdkalpa,  Asa'mkhyeyakal;pa  and  Antarakal^a.  All  the  Cak- 
ravdtas  are  subject  to  an  alternate  process  of  destruction  and 
renovation,  and  a  Mahdkal^a  is  a  period  which  elapses  from  the 
commencement  of  a  cakravdta  to  its  complete  destruction.  Each 
Mahdkal^a  is  subdivided  into  four  Asamkhyeyakalpds.  .  .  .  Each 
Asamkliyeyakalpa  contains  twenty  Anta7'akal;pds,  an  Antara- 
kalfa  being  the  interval  that  elapses  while  the  age  of  man  in- 
creases from  ten  years  to  an  asamkhyeya,  and  then  decreases 
again  to  ten  years  ;  this  period  is  of  immense  duration."  See  also 
the  third  Ko(athdna  (chapter)  of  the  Abhidharmakofa  by  Vasu- 
bandhu, 

2  Notice  that  Nirvana  is  not  inactivity  or  nothingness  as  com- 
monly supposed.     It  is,  according  to  Afvaghosha,  the  annihilation 


88  a^vaghosha's 

There  are  two  senses  in  what  we  call  "the  perfum- 
ing of  the  subjective  mind  "  :  (i)  the  perfuming  of  the 
phenomena-particularising-consciousness,  whereby  all 
common  people  {prthagjand),  (^ravakas,  and  Praty- 
ekabuddhas  are  induced  to  loathe  the  misery  of  birth 
and  death,  and,  each  according  to  his  own  capacity, 
to  step  towards  the  most  excellent  knowledge  {bodhi- 
parinishpatti');  (2)  the  perfuming  of  the  ego  {nianas), 
whereby  courageously  making  up  their  minds,  Bodhi- 
sattvas  unhesitatingly  step  towards  and  enter  into 
Nirvana,  that  has  no  fixed  abode. 

There  are  also  two  senses  in  what  we  call  *'the 
perfuming  of  suchness":  (i)  essence-perfuming,  and 
(2)  activity-perfuming. 

The  Essence-Perfuming. — Embracing  in  full  from 
all  eternity  infinite  spotless  virtues  {and<;.rava)  and  in- 
comprehensibly excellent  spiritual  states  that  can  effi- 
ciently exercise  an  eternal  and  incessant  influence 
upon  all  beings,  suchness  thereby  perfumes  the  minds 
of  all  beings.^ 

In  consequence  of  this  perfuming  power,  they  are 
caused  to  loathe  the  misery  of  birth  and  death,  and 
to  long  for  the  blessing  of  Nirvana,  and  believing  that 
they  are  in  possession  within  themselves  of  the  true, 

of  the  ego-conception,  freedom  from  subjectivity,  insight  into  the 
essence  of  suchness,  or  the  recognition  of  the  oneness  of  existence. 

^  The  older  translation:  "(i)  Embracing  from  all  eternity 
things  spotless  and  possessing  in  full  some  inconceivable  activity 
and  (2)  being  capable  to  objectify  itself,  suchness  through  these  two 
attributes  constantly  and  eternally  exercises  its  perfuming  power." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  89 

valid  Dharma,  to  call  forth  their  aspiration  {cittotpddaf 
and  to  discipline  themselves. 

Here  a  question  arises  :  If  all  beings  are  uniformly 
in  possession  of  suchness  and  are  therefore  equally 
perfumed  by  it,  how  is  it  that  there  are  some  who  do 
not  believe  in  it,  while  others  do ;  and  that  there  are 
such  immeasurable  stages  and  inequalities  among 
them,  which  divide  the  path  from  the  first  stage  of  as- 
piration up  to  the  last  stage  of  Nirvana,  while  accord- 
ing to  the  Doctrine  all  these  differences  should  be 
equalised? 

In  reply  we  say  this :  Though  all  beings  are  uni- 
formly in  possession  of  suchness,  the  intensity  [of  the 
influence]  of  ignorance,  the  principle  of  individuation, 
that  works  from  all  eternity,  varies  in  such  manifold 
grades  as  to  outnumber  the  sands  of  the  Ganges.  And 
it  is  even  so  with  such  entangling  prejudices  {kle^a  or 
d^rava)  as  the  ego-conception,  intellectual  and  affec- 
tional  prejudices,  etc.  [whose  perfuming  efficiency 
varies  according  to  the  karma  previously  accumulated 
by  each  individual], — all  these  things  being  compre- 
hended only  by  the  Tathagata.  Hence  such  immeas- 
urable degrees  of  difference  as  regards  belief,  etc.^ 

^  This  has  a  technical  sense  and  is  explained  below. 

2  The  view  here  set  forth  is  illustrated  in  the  fifth  chapter  of 
the  Saddharma-fundartka  SMra  by  the  relation  of  the  rain  and 
plants.  "Then,  Kapyapa,  the  grasses,  shrubs,  herbs,  and  wild 
trees  in  this  universe,  such  as  have  young  and  tender  stalks,  twigs, 
leaves,  and  foliage,  and  such  as  have  middle-sized  stalks,  twigs, 
leaves,  and  foliage,  and  such  as  have  the  same  fully  developed,  all 
those  grasses,  shrubs,  herbs,  and  wild  trees,  smaller  and  greater 


go  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

Further,  there  is  made  in  the  doctrine  of  all  Bud- 
dhas  a  distinction  between  raison  d'etre  {Jietu)  and 
cause  (^pratyaya).  When  both  are  fully  satisfied,  the 
final  goal  [of   Buddhism]  is  attained   and   actualised. 

To  illustrate :  the  combustible  nature  of  the  wood 
is  the  raison  d^etre  of  a  fire.  But  if  a  man  is  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact,  or,  though  acquainted  with  it, 
does  not  apply  any  method  [whereby  the  potential 
principle  can  be  actualised],  how  could  he  produce  a 
fire  and  burn  the  wood? 

It  is  even  so  with  all  beings.  Although  they  are 
in  possession  of  suchness  as  the  perfuming  raison 
d^etre,  yet  how  could  they  attain  to  Nirvana,  if  they 
do  not  happen,  as  the  cause,  to  see  Buddhas  or  Bodhi- 
sattvas,  or  good  sages,  or  even  if  they  see  them,  do 
not  practise  good  deeds  (^caryd),  do  not  exercise  wis- 
dom {prajnd),  do  not  destroy  prejudices  {^klega)7 

Conversely,  by  the  cause  alone,  i.  e.,  by  their  mere 
happening  to  see  all  good  sages,  it  is  not  sure  for 
them  that  they  will  be  induced  to  loathe  the  misery 

(other)  trees  will  each,  according  to  its  faculty  and  power,  suck 
the  humid  element  from  the  water  emitted  by  that  great  cloud, 
and  by  that  water  which,  all  of  one  essence,  has  been  abundantly 
poured  down  by  the  cloud,  they  will  each,  according  to  its  germ 
[i.  e.,  karma],  acquire  a  regular  development,  growth,  shooting  up, 
and  bigness;  and  they  will  produce  blossoms  and  fruits,  and  will 
receive,  eacli  severally,  their  names.  Rooted  in  one  and  the  same 
soil,  all  those  {diJJ'erc7ii\  families  of  plants  and  germs  are 
drenched  and  vivified  by  water  of  one  essence  throughout.'^ 
(Kern's  English  Translation,  p.  119.  The  italics  and  words  in 
brackets  are  by  the  present  translator.) 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  QI 

of  birth  and  death  and  to  long  for  the  blessing  of  Nir- 
vana, unless  indeed  they  were  in  possession  within 
themselves  of  the  intrinsic  perfuming  principle  as  the 
raison  d'etre.  It  is,  therefore,  only  when  both  the 
raison  d'etre  and  the  cause  are  fully  actualised  that 
they  can  do  so. 

How  are  the  raison  d'etre  and  the  cause  to  be  fully 
actualised? 

Now,  there  is  an  inherent  perfuming  principle  in 
one's  own  being,  which,  embraced  and  protected  by 
the  love  {fnaitri')  and  compassion  {karund^  of  all  Bud- 
dhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  is  caused  to  loathe  the  misery 
of  birth  and  death,  to  believe  in  Nirvana,  to  cultivate 
their  root  of  merit  {ku^alamula)  ^  to  habituate  oneself 
to  it,  and  to  bring  it  to  maturity. 

In  consequence  of  this,  one  is  enabled  to  see  all 
Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  and,  receiving  instruc- 
tions from  them,  is  benefited,  gladdened,  induced  to 
practise  good  deeds,  etc.,  till  one  attain  to  Buddha- 
hood  and  enter  into  Nirvana. 

The  Activity-Perfuming. — By  this  is  meant  nothing 
else  than  the  perfuming  influence  of  the  external  cause 
over  all  beings.  It  asserts  itself  in  innumerable  ways. 
Briefly  speaking  we  may  distinguish  two  kinds  of  it : 
(i)  individual;  and  (2)  universal. 

The  Individual  Cause. — All  beings  since  their  first 
aspiration  {cittotpddd)  till  the  attainment  of  Buddha- 
hood  are  sheltered  under  the  guardianship  of  all  Bud- 
dhas and  Bodhisattvas  who,   responding   to   the   re- 


92  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

quirements  of  the  occasion,  transform  themselves  and 
assume  the  actual  forms  of  personality. 

Thus  for  the  sake  of  all  beings  Buddhas  and  Bodhi- 
sattvas  become  sometimes  their  parents,  sometimes 
their  wives  and  children,  sometimes  their  kinsmen, 
sometimes  their  servants,  sometimes  their  friends, 
sometimes  their  enemies,  sometimes  reveal  them- 
selves as  devas  or  in  some  other  forms. 

Again  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  treat  all  beings 
sometimes  with  the  four  methods  of  entertainment,^ 
sometimes  with  the  six  paramitas,*  or  with  some  other 
deeds,  all  of  which  are  the  inducement  for  them  to 
make  their  knowledge  {bodhi')  perfect. 

Thus  embracing  all  beings  with  their  deep  com- 
passion {inahdkarund'),  with  their  meek  and  tender 
heart,  as  well  as  their  immense  treasure  of  blissful 
wisdom,  Buddhas  convert  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
suit  their  [all  beings']  needs  and  conditions  ;  while 
all  beings  thereby  are  enabled  to  hear  or  to  see  Bud- 
dhas, and,  thinking  of  Tathagatas  or  some  other  per- 
sonages, to  increase  their  root  of  merit  {ku<;ala77mla). 

This  individual  cause  is  divided  into  two  kinds  : 
(i)  that  which  takes  effect  immediately,  enabling  one 
without  delay  to  attain  to  Buddhahood  ;  (2)  that  which 
takes  effect  gradually,  enabling  one  to  attain  to  Bud- 
dhahood only  after  a  long  interval. 

^ Catvciri-sangrahavast{lyii  in  Sanskrit.  They  are  (i)  dana, 
charity;  {7.)  friyavacayia,  endearing  speech;  {^■^)  arthacaryd,  be- 
neficial action  ;  (4)  samdmtrtJid,  co-operation. 

2  This  is  explained  below. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  93 

Each  of  these  two  is  further  divided  into  two 
kinds:  (i)  that  which  increases  one's  root  of  merit; 
(2)  that  which  induces  one  to  enter  into  the  path 
(nidrga). 

The  Ujiiversal  Cause.  —  With  universal  wisdom 
{samatdjndna?)  and  universal  wishes  {samatdprani- 
dhdna?)  all  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  desire  to  achieve 
a  universal  emancipation  of  all  beings.  This  desire 
is  eternal  and  spontaneous  on  their  part.  And  now 
as  this  wisdom  and  these  wishes  have  the  perfuming 
power  over  all  beings,  the  latter  are  caused  to  think 
of  or  to  recollect  all  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  so 
that  sometimes  hearing  them,  sometimes  seeing  them, 
all  beings  thereby  acquire  [spiritual]  benefits  (Jiitata), 
That  is,  entering  into  the  samadhi  of  purity,  they  de- 
stroy hindrances  wherever  they  are  met  with,  and  ob- 
tain all-penetrating  insight,^  that  enables  one  to  be- 
come conscious  of  the  absolute  oneness  {samatd')  of 
the  universe  {jarvalokd)  and  to  see  innumerable  Bud- 
dhas and  Bodhisattvas.'-^ 

Again,  this  perfuming  of  the  essence  and  the  ac- 
tivity may  be  divided  into  two  categories:  (i)  that 
which  is  not  yet  in  unison  [with  suchness] ;  (2)  that 
which  is  already  in  unison  [with  suchness]. 

By  that  perfuming  which  is  not  yet  in  unison  [with 
suchness]  we  understand  the  religious  discipline  of 

^  Literally,  an  unimpeded  eye. 

2  The  older  translation  differs  a  little,  but  without  any  con- 
siderable change  in  the  meaning. 


94  AgVAGHOSHA  S 

common  people  (^p?'thagjana),  (Jravakas,  Pratyeka- 
buddhas,  and  novice  Bodhisattvas.  While  their 
strength  of  faith  {p-addhabala)  perfumed  by  the  ego 
{ffianas^  and  the  ego-consciousness  {manovijndnd)  en- 
ables them  to  continue  their  religious  discipline,  they 
have  not  yet  attained  to  the  state  of  non-particulari- 
sation,  because  their  discipline  is  not  yet  in  unison 
with  the  essence  of  suchness  ;  nor  have  they  yet  at- 
tained to  the  spontaneity  of  action  (^svayamkarma?')^ , 
because  their  discipline  is  not  yet  in  unison  with  the 
activity  of  suchness. 

By  that  perfuming  which  is  already  in  unison  [with 
suchness],  we  understand  the  religious  discipline  of 
Bodhisattvas  of  the  Dharmakaya.  They  have  attended 
to  the  state  of  non-particularisation,  because  their 
discipline  is  in  unison  with  the  self-essence  of  all  Ta- 
thagatas  ;  they  have  attained  to  the  spontaneity  of  ac- 
tion, because  their  discipline  is  in  unison  with  the 
wisdom  and  activity  of  all  Tathagatas.   Allowing  them- 

^  The  spontaneity  of  action  means  action  without  attachment 
or  free  from  the  ego-conception.  It  is  somewhat  similar  to  Lao- 
Tze's  idea  of  zvu  zvei,  non-assertion.  Cf.  also  the  following  pas- 
sages from  the  Bha^avadgtlA,  Chap.  IV.,  p.  59:  "Actions  defile 
me  not.  I  have  no  attachment  to  the  fruit  of  actions."  P.  60: 
"  He  is  wise  among  men,  he  is  possessed  of  devotion,  who  sees  in- 
action in  action  and  action  in  inaction."  .  .  .  "Forsaking  all  at- 
tachment to  the  fruit  of  action,  always  contented,  dependent  on 
none,  he  does  nothing  at  all,  though  he  engages  in  action."  P.  64  ; 
"He  .  .  .  who  identifies  his  self  with  every  being,  is  not  tainted 
though  he  performs  (action)."  "Action  in  inaction  and  inaction  in 
action  "  exactly  coincides  with  the  practical  side  of  Agvaghosha's 
doctrine  of  suchness  (bhdtalathatd). 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  95 

selves  to  be  influenced  only  by  the  power  of  the 
Dharma,  their  discipline  acquires  a  nature  of  spon- 
taneity and  thereby  perfumes  suchness  and  destroys 
ignorance. 

Again  the  incessant  perfuming  of  the  defiled 
dharma  [i.  e.,  ignorance]  from  all  eternity  works  on; 
but  when  one  attains  to  Buddhahood,  one  at  once 
puts  an  end  to  it. 

The  perfuming  of  the  pure  dharma  [i.  e.,  such- 
ness] works  on  to  eternity,  and  there  is  no  interrup- 
tion of  it.  Because  by  virtue  of  the  perfuming  of  the 
Dharma,  that  is,  suchness,  subjectivity  is  on  the  one 
hand  annihilated,  and  the  Dharmakaya  is  on  the  other 
hand  revealed,  and  the  perfuming  process  of  the  ac- 
tivity [of  suchness]  thus  originated  forever  goes  on. 

c.    The  Tlweefold  Significance  of  the  Mahdydna  Explained. 

Again  the  quintessence  and  the  attributes  of  such- 
ness {bhutatathata)  know  no  diminution  or  addition, 
but  remain  the  same  in  common  people  {prthagjana), 
(Jravakas,  Pratyekabuddhas,  Bodhisattvas,  and  Bud- 
dhas.  It  was  not  created  in  the  past,  nor  is  it  to  be 
annihilated  in  the  future ;  it  is  eternal,  permanent, 
absolute  ;  and  from  all  eternity  it  sufficingly  embraces 
in  its  essence  all  possible  merits  (^punya). 

That  is  to  sa}^,  suchness  has  such  characteristics 
as  follows  :  the  effulgence  of  great  wisdom  ;  the  uni- 
versal illumination  of  the  dharmadhatu  [universe] ; 
the  true  and  adequate  knowledge ;  the  mind  pure  and 


96  a^vaghosha's 

clean  in  its  self-nature  ;  the  eternal,  the  blessed,  the 
self-regulating  and  the  pure;^  the  tranquil,  the  im- 
mutable, and  the  free.  And  there  is  no  heterogeneity 
in  all  those  Buddha-dharmas  which,  outnumbering 
the  sands  of  the  Ganges,  can  be  neither  identical 
{ekdrtha)  nor  not-identical  {ndndrtha)  [with  the  essence 
of  suchness],  and  which  therefore  are  out  of  the  range 
of  our  comprehension.  Accordingly  suchness  is  called 
the  Tathagata's  womb  {tathdgatagarbha)  or  the  Dhar- 
makaya.2 

It  may  be  questioned  :  While  it  was  stated  before 
that  suchness  is  devoid  of  all  characteristics  ijakshana), 
how  can  it  now  be  said  without  contradiction  that  it 
embraces  in  full  all  such  merits? 

In  reply  it  would  be  said  that  though  suchness  in 
truth  abundantly  embraces  all  merits,  yet  it  is  free  in 
its  nature  from  all  forms  of  distinction  ;  because  all 
objects  in  the  world  are  of  one  and  the  same  taste, 
are  of  one  reality,  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  modes 
of  particularisation,  and  are  not  of  dualistic  character. 
Depending  on  the  principle  of  birth-and-death,  such 
as  the  activity-consciousness  {karmavijndna?),  etc., 
however,  all  signs  of  difference  and  individuation  ap- 
pear. 

'  These  four  qualities  are  usually  considered  by  Mah^yclnists 
to  be  those  of  Nirvina  as  well. 

^  Observe  here  again  that  Dharmak^ya  is  used  in  a  sense  quite 
different  from  its  ordinary  interpretation  as  the  "Body  of  the 
Law." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  97 

How  are  those  qualifications  to  be  assigned  to 
suchness? 

Though  all  things  in  their  [metaphysical]  origin 
come  from  the  soul  alone  and  in  truth  free  from  par- 
ticularisation,  yet  on  account  of  non-enlightenment 
there  originates  a  subjective  mind  [i.  e. ,  dlaya-vijndna] 
that  becomes  conscious  of  an  external  world  (I'ishaya). 
This  we  call  ignorance  {avidya).  Nevertheless  the 
essence  of  the  mind  [or  the  soul]  is  perfectly  pure, 
and  there  is  no  awakening  of  ignorance  in  it.  Thence 
we  assign  to  suchness  this  quality,  the  effulgence  of 
great  wisdom. 

If  the  mind  being  awakened  perceive  an  external 
world,  then  there  will  be  something  that  cannot  be 
perceived  by  it.  But  the  essence  of  the  mind  has 
nothing  to  do  with  perception  [which  presupposes  the 
dual  existence  of  a  perceiving  subject  and  an  object 
perceived];  so  there  is  nothing  that  cannot  be  per- 
ceived by  it,  [that  is,  the  world  of  relativity  is  sub- 
merged in  the  oneness  of  suchness].  Thence  we  as- 
sign to  suchness  this  quality,  the  universal  illumination 
of  the  universe  {dharmadhdtu). 

When  the  mind  is  disturbed,  it  fails  to  be  a  true 
and  adequate  knowledge  ;  it  fails  to  be  a  pure,  clean 
essence  ;  it  fails  to  be  eternal,  blissful,  self-regulating, 
and  pure  ;  it  fails  to  be  tranquil,  etc.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  will  become  transient,  changeable,  unfree, 
and  therefore  the  source  of  falsity  and  defilement, 
while  its  modifications  outnumber  the  sands  of  the 


g8  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

Ganges.  But  when  there  is  no  disturbance  in  the 
essence  of  the  mind,  we  speak  of  suchness  as  being 
the  true,  adequate  knowledge,  etc.,  and  as  possessing 
pure  and  clean  merits  that  outnumber  the  sands  of 
the  Ganges. 

When  the  mind  is  disturbed  it  will  strive  to  be- 
come conscious  of  the  existence  of  an  external  world 
and  will  thus  betray  the  imperfection  of  its  inner 
condition.  But  as  all  infinite  merits  in  fact  constitute 
the  one  mind  which,  perfect  in  itself,  has  no  need  of 
seeking  after  any  external  things  other  than  itself,  so 
suchness  never  fails  to  actualise  all  those  Buddha- 
dharmas,  that,  outnumbering  the  sands  of  the  Ganges, 
can  be  said  to  be  neither  identical  nor  non-identical 
with  the  essence  of  the  mind,  and  that  therefore  are 
utterly  out  of  the  range  of  our  comprehension.  On 
that  account  suchness  is  designated  the  Tathagata's 
v/omb  {tathdgatagarbha)  or  the  Tathagata's  Dharma- 
kaya. 

What  is  meant  by  the  activity  of  suchness  is  this : 
all  Buddhas,  while  at  the  stage  of  discipline,  feel  a 
deep  compassion  {inahdkaruna')  [for  all  beings],  prac- 
tise all  paramitas,  the  four  methods  of  entertainment 
{catvciri-sangrahavastuni^^  and  many  other  meritorious 
deeds ;  treat  others  as  their  own  self,  wish  to  work 
out  a  universal  salvation  of  mankind  in  ages  to  come, 
through  limitless  numbers  of  kalpas  ;  recognise  truth- 
fully and  adequately  the  principle  of  equality  {saiiiaia) 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  99 

among  people ;  and  do  not  cling  to  the  individual  ex- 
istence of  a  sentient  being. ^ 

By  virtue  of  such  a  great  wisdom  that  works  means 
of  emancipation  {iipdyajnd?),'^  they  annihilate  ignor- 
ance that  knows  no  beginning  ;  recognise  the  Dharma- 
kaya  in  its  original  purity;  spontaneously  perform  in- 
comprehensible karma ^  as  well  as  various  unfettered 
moral  activities  ;  manifest  themselves  throughout  the 
universe  {dharmadhdtu)^  identify  themselves  with 
suchness,  and  leave  no  traces  of  compulsion.* 

And  how  is  this? 

Because  all  Tathagatas  are  the  Dharmakaya  it- 
self,^ are  the  highest  truth   (yparamdrthasatya)  itself, 

^  The  older  translation  reads  :  "  For  they  consider  all  sentient 
beings  as  their  own  self  and  do  not  cling  to  their  individual  forms. 
How  is  this  ?  Because  they  know  truthfully  that  all  sentient  be- 
ings as  well  as  their  own  self  come  from  one  and  the  same  such- 
ness, and  no  distinction  can  be  established  among  them." 

^Cf.  the  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  seventh  chapter  of 
the  Saddharnia-;pu?idartka  Siltra,  in  which  Buddha  preaches 
about  the  means  of  salvation. 

^That  is,  "action  in  inaction  and  inaction  in  action." 

^Agvaghosha's  conception  of  religious  life  as  identical  in  its 
essence  with  poetry  or  fine  art,  I  think,  closely  resembles  that  of 
Kant  who  says  in  his  Critique  of  Judgment  that  the  production 
of  fine  art  should  appear  as  if  the  work  of  nature.  To  quote  his 
own  words  :  '  'Als  Natur  aber  erscheint  ein  Produkt  der  Kunst  da- 
durch,  dass  zwar  alle  Piinktlichkeit  in  der  Uebereinkunft  mit  Re- 
geln,  nach  denen  allein  das  Produkt  das  werden  kann,  was  es  sein 
soil,  angetroffen  wird,  aber  ohne  Peinlichkeit,  d.  i.,  ohne  eine  Spur 
zu  zeigen,  dass  die  Regel  dem  Kiinstler  vor  Augen  geschwebt  und 
seinen  Gemiithskraften  Fesseln  angelegt  habe."  {Kritik  der  Ur- 
theilskra/t,  Kirchmann's  edition,  p.  169.) 

^Cf.   Vajracchedikd,  Chap.  XVII:  "And  why,  O  Subhuti,  the 


lOO  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

and  have  nothing  to  do  with  conditionality  {samvrtti- 
satya)  and  compulsory  actions ;  whereas  the  seeing, 
hearing,  etc.  [i.  e.,  the  particularising  senses]  of  the 
sentient  being  diversify  [on  its  own  account]  the  ac- 
tivity of  Tathagatas. 

Now  this  activity  [in  another  word,  the  Dharma- 
kaya]  has  a  twofold  aspect.  The  first  one  depends 
on  the  phenomena-particularising-consciousness,  by 
means  of  which  the  activit}^  is  conceived  by  the  minds 
of  common  people  (^prthagjand),  Qravakas,  and  Prat- 
yekabuddhas.  This  aspect  is  called  the  Body  of 
Transformation  {ninndnakdyd). 

But  as  the  beings  of  this  class  do  not  know  that 
the  Body  of  Transformation  is  merely  the  shadow  [or 
reflection]  of  their  own  evolving-consciousness  (^pra- 
vrtti-vijndna)y  they  imagine  that  it  comes  from  some 
external  sources,  and  so  they  give  it  a  corporeal  limi- 
tation. But  the  Body  of  Transformation  [or  what 
amounts  to  the  same  thing,  the  Dharmakaya]  has 
nothing  to  do  with  limitation  and  measurement. ^ 

The  second  aspect  [of  the  Dharmakaya]  depends 
on  the  activity-consciousness  {kannavijndna)  by  means 
of  which  the  activity  is  conceived  by  the  minds  of 

name  of  Tathagata  ?  It  expresses  true  suchness  {hh  fit  at  at  hat  d). 
...  It  expresses  that  he  had  no  origin.  ...  It  expresses  the  de- 
struction of  all  qualities  {dJiarnia).  ...  It  expresses  one  who  had 
no  origin  whatever.  .  .  .  Because,  O  Subhuti,  no-origin  is  the  high- 
est goal." 

'  The  older  translation  reads  simply:  ' '  They  cannot  thoroughly 
understand  it  [i.  e.,  the  true  nature  of  the  A^irnulnaki^ya.y' 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  lOl 

Bodhisattvas  while  passing  from  their  first  aspiration 
{dttoipdda)  stage  up  to  the  height  of  Bodhisattva- 
hood.  This  is  called  the  Body  of  Bliss  {sambhoga- 
kdyd). 

The  body  has  infinite  forms.  The  form  has  infinite 
attributes.  The  attribute  has  infinite  excellencies. 
And  the  accompanying  rewards ^  of  Bodhisattvas,  that 
is,  the  region  where  they  are  predestined  to  be  born 
[by  their  previous  karma],  also  has  infinite  merits 
and  ornamentations.  Manifesting  itself  everywhere, 
the  Body  of  Bliss  is  infinite,  boundless,  limitless,  un- 
intermittent  [in  its  action],  directly  coming  forth  from 
the  mind. 2 

All  these  merits  being  actualised  through  the  per- 
fuming of  such  spotless  deeds  as  the  paramitas"^,  etc., 
as  well  as  through  the  incomprehensible  perfuming 
power  [of  enlightenment  a  priori'],  the  Sambhogakaya 

^  Buddhists  distinguish  two  kinds  of  the  retribution  which  we 
receive  as  the  fruit  of  karma  previously  accumulated  by  ourselves: 
the  first  one  called  "principal"  is  our  bodily  existence ;  the  sec- 
ond called  "accompanying"  is  the  region  where  we  are  destined 
to  be  born. 

2 The  older  translation  has:  "It  is  boundless,  cannot  be  ex- 
hausted, is  free  from  the  signs  of  limitation.  Manifesting  itself 
wherever  it  should  manifest  itself,  it  always  exists  by  itself  and  is 
never  destroyed  or  lost." 

^The  six  Paramitas  are  commonly  enumerated:  (i)  charity 
{dd}ia);  (2)  morality  (p-?/a) ;  (3)  patience  (-^st?w/z);  (4)  energy  (z^frja); 
(5)  meditation  {dhydna);  (6)  wisdom  {frajnd).  When  we  speak  of 
the  ten  Paramitas,  the  following  four  are  to  be  added  :  expediency 
{u;pdya)\  prayer  or  vow  (/raw/f//<!<^;i«);  strength  (6a/«);  knowledge 
{Judna).     An  explanation  of  the  six  Paramitas  is  given  below. 


102  a^vaghosha's 

embraces  infinite  attributes  of  bliss  and  merit.  There- 
fore it  is  also  called  the  Body  of  Reward. 

What  is  recognised  by  common  people  (^p7'thag- 
Jana),  etc.,  is  the  coarsest  form  of  the  activity  of  the 
Dharmakaya.  There  is  a  variety  of  it  according  to 
the  six  different  states  of  creation.^  It  has  no  attri- 
butes of  infinite  merits  and  blessings. 

What  is  recognised  by  Bodhisattvas  at  the  first 
stage  is  a  finer  form  of  the  activity  of  the  Dharma- 
kaya. As  they  firmly  believe  in  suchness,  the}'  can 
have  a  partial  insight  into  it,  and  understand  that  the 
Bod}^  of  the  Tathagata  is  not  departing,  is  not  com- 
ing, is  free  from  arrest^  [i.  e.,  the  Tathagata's  work 
is  eternal  and  constant],  that  every  thing  is  but  a  re- 
flected shadow  of  the  mind,  not  independent  of  such- 
ness.  But  these  Bodhisattvas  have  not  yet  freed 
themselves  from  the  finest  form  of  particularisation, 
because  they  have  not  yet  entered  into  the  order  of 
the  Dharmakaya. 

Bodhisattvas  at  the  stage  of  pure-heartedness  are 
able  to  recognise  the  finer  form  of  the  activity  [of  the 
Dharmakaya].  Their  insight  is  more  penetrating  than 
the  former.  When  they  reach  the  height  of  Bodhi- 
sattvahood  their  insight  becomes  perfect. 

By  the  finer  form  of  the  activity  we  understand 

'The  six  states  of  creation  (^mt/)  are:  {i)  Deva  (gods);  (2) 
Manushya  (men);  (3)  A  sura  (demons);  {^)  Preta  (ghosts);  (5)  Tir- 
yagyoni  (animals);  (6)  Ndraka  (inhabitants  of  hell). 

'^  Cf .  the  Vajracchedikd  SUtra,  Chap.  XXIX  {Sacred  Books 
of  the  East,  Vol.  XLIX..  p.  142). 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I03 

the  Body  of  Bliss  {sambhogakdyd).  As  long  as  they  are 
possessed  by  the  activity-consciousness,  they  would 
conceive  the  Body  of  Bliss. ^  But  when  they  are  libe- 
rated from  it,  all  traces  of  individuation  would  become 
obliterated.  Because  all  Tathagatas  come  from  [one 
and  the  same]  Dharmakaya,  have  no  distinction  of 
this-ness  and  that-ness,  have  no  corporeal  forms  that 
are  characterised  by  reciprocal  limitation. 

A  question  arises  here  :  If  the  Dharmakaya  of  Bud- 
dhas  is  devoid  of  variously  differentiated  corporeal 
forms,  how  is  it  that  it  can  manifest  itself  in  various 
corporeal  forms  at  all? 

In  reply  we  say :  The  Dharmakaya  can  manifest 
itself  in  various  corporeal  forms  just  because  it  is  the 
real  essence  of  them.  Matter  (rupa)  and  mind  {citia) 
from  the  very  beginning  are  not  a  duality.  So  we 
speak  of  [the  universe  as]  a  system  of  rationality 
{prajnakdya),  seeing  that  the  real  nature  of  matter 
just  constitutes  the  norm  of  mind.  Again  we  speak 
of  [the  universe  as]  a  system  of  materiality  {dharma- 
Jcdyd),  seeing  that  the  true  nature  of  mind  just  consti- 
tutes the  norm  of  matter.^ 

Now  depending  on  the  Dharmakaya,  all  Tathaga- 
tas manifest  themselves  in  bodily  forms  and  are  inces- 

^  The  last  two  sentences  are  missing  in  the  older  translation. 

^  Cf .  the  following  passages  from  the  Praj?id-;pd7'a7nitd-hrdaya 
SMra:  "Form  [rflpa]  is  emptiness  {(ilnyatd),  and  emptiness  is 
indeed  form.  Emptiness  is  not  different  from  form,  form  is  not 
different  from  emptiness.  What  is  form  that  is  emptiness,  what  is 
emptiness  that  is  form." 


I04  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

santly  present  at  all  points  of  space. ^  And  Bodhisatt- 
vas  in  the  ten  quarters,  according  to  their  capabilities 
and  wishes,  are  able  to  manifest  infinite  Bodies  of 
Bliss  and  infinite  lands  of  ornamentation,  each  one  of 
which,  though  stamped  with  the  marks  of  individual- 
ity, does  not  hinder  the  others  from  being  fused  into 
it,  and  this  [mutual  fusion]  has  no  interruption. 

But  the  manifestation  of  the  Dharmakaya  in  [in- 
finite] bodily  forms  is  not  comprehensible  to  the 
thought  and  understanding  of  common  people;  be- 
cause it  is  the  free  and  subtlest  activity  of  suchness.*'' 

Again,  in  order  that  all  beings  might  be  induced 
to  step  forward  from  the  gate  of  birth-and-death  to 
that  of  suchness,  we  endeavor  to  let  them  understand 
that  those  modes  of  existence  such  as  matter  {riipa)^ 
etc.  [i.  e.,  the  five  skandhas]^  are  imperfect. 

Why  are  they  imperfect? 

When  we  divide  some  gross  [or  composite]  mat- 
ter, we  can  reduce  it  to  atoms  {anu).  But  as  the  atom 
will  also  be  subject  to  further  division,  all  forms  of 
material  existence,  whether  gross  or  fine,  are  nothing 
but  the  shadow  of  particularisation  produced  by  a 
subjective  mind,  and  we  cannot  ascribe  any  degree  of 
[absolute,  or  independent]  reality  to  them. 

^  The  older  translation:  "Therefore  it  is  preached  that  the 
Dharmakaya  is  omnipresent.  The  corporeal  forms  by  which  it 
manifests  itself  have  no  limitation." 

^  This  passage  is  missing  in  the  older  translation. 

^  They  are  matter  {r/?/a);  sensation  (7'<?f/««<?);  idea  (5awy;;<f); 
action  {samskdra);  and  consciousness  (ju'fudna). 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  IO5 

Let  US  next  go  over  to  and  examine  the  other 
skandhas  [that  have  temporal  existence].  We  find 
there  too  that  we  can  gradually  reduce  them  to  ksha- 
nas  [i.  e.,  infinitesimal  divisions  of  time],  whose  na- 
ture, however  closely  scrutinised,  does  not  give  any 
sign  of  [indivisible]  oneness. 

It  is  even  the  same  with  the  objects  of  non-aggre- 
gate {asa77iskrta-dhar7nd)?^  They  cannot  have  their 
own  existence  independent  of  the  universe  {dharma- 
dhdlii).  Be  it  therefore  understood  that  the  same  may 
be  said  in  regard  to  all  objects  without  exception  in 
the  ten  quarters  of  space.  ^ 

As  a  lost  man  who  takes  the  east  for  the  west, 

^All  phenomena  in  the  world,  physical  as  well  as  mental,  are 
divided  into  two  great  classes:  (i)  Samskrtadharma,  i.  e.,  that 
which  consists  of  parts  temporal  or  spatial;  (2)  AsamskrtadJiarma, 
i.  e.,  that  which  does  not  consist  of  parts.  The  first  class  is  sub- 
divided into  four  principal  departments  which  are  also  subject  to 
a  further  subdivision,  seventy-two  in  the  Hinayana  system  (accord- 
ing to  the  Abhidha7'mako(a-(dstra),  and  ninety-four  in  the  Maha- 
yana  (according  to  the  Vijyidnamdt7-asiddhi-idstra).  The  four 
principal  departments  are  :  (i)  R-fi^a  (physical  phenomena);  (2) 
Cz'zf/fa  (thought  or  understanding);  (3)  Caittadharma  ox  Cittasam- 
•prayuktasamskdra  (mental  phenomena);  (4)  Cittavi^rayukta- 
samskdra  (that  which  does  not  belong  to  the  former,  namely, 
relation  that  obtains  among  things).  As  for  the  second  class, 
A  samskrtadharma,  Mahayanists  subdivide  it  into  six  while  Hina- 
yanists  subdivide  it  into  three.  For  details  see  the  two  Qastras 
above  mentioned. 

2  The  last  five  paragraphs  are  missing  in  the  older  translation 
which  has  simply  this  instead:  "The  external  world  which  consists 
in  the  six  objects  of  sense  does  not  exist  independently  of  our  mind, 
and  the  mind  having  no  forms  and  attributes  cannot  be  grasped 
even  if  we  search  for  it  throughout  the  ten  quarters." 


I06  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

while  the  quarter  is  not  changed  on  account  of  his 
confusion,  so  all  beings,  because  of  their  misleading 
ignorance,  imagine  that  the  mind  is  being  disturbed, 
while  in  reality  it  is  not. 

But  when  they  understand  that  the  disturbance  of 
the  mind  [i.  e.,  birth-and-death]  is  [at  the  same  time] 
immortality  [viz.,  suchness],  they  would  then  enter 
into  the  gate  of  suchness. 

2.    The  Refutation  of  False  Doctrines. 

All  false  doctrines  invariably  come  out  of  the  at- 
man-conception.  If  we  were  liberated  from  it,  the 
existence  of  false  doctrines  would  be  impossible. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  the  atman-conception  :  (i) 
Belief  in  the  existence  of  a  personal  atman  [or  ego- 
soul] ;  (2)  Belief  in  the  existence  of  atman  in  things 
[or  things-in-themselves].^ 

a.   Five  False  Vieivs  Held  by  Those  Who  Believe  in  a 

Personal  Atman. 

There  are  five  different  views  springing  from  it 
[belief  in  the  ego],  which  are  held  by  common  people 
{prthagjana'). 

First,  hearing  that  it  is  said  in  the  Sutra^  that  the 

'  This  denial  of  the  existence  of  things-in-themselves  is  one  of 
the  principal  features  of  the  Mahayana  as  distinguished  from  the 
Hinayana  Buddhism. 

'^  It  is  not  exactly  known  to  what  Sutra  or  Sutras  this  refers, 
but  the  analogy  of  this  kind  is  frequently  met  with  in  most  of  the 
Mahfiyana  texts. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  IO7 

Dharmakaya  of  the  Tathagata  is  perfectly  tranquil  and 
may  be  likened  unto  space  {dkdsa),  yet  not  under- 
standing its  purport,  ignorant  people  cling  to  the  view 
that  the  nature  of  the  Tathagata  is  eternal  and  omni- 
present in  the  same  sense  as  space  is. 

In  order  that  this  clinging  to  the  false  doctrine 
may  be  eliminated,  be  it  clearly  understood  that 
space  is  nothing  but  a  mode  of  particularisation  and 
that  it  has  no  real  existence  of  its  own.  Where  there 
is  a  perception  of  space,  there  is  side  by  side  a  per- 
ception of  a  variety  of  things,  in  contradistinction  to 
which  space  is  spoken  of  as  if  existing  independently. 
Space  therefore  exists  only  in  relation  to  our  partic- 
ularising consciousness. 

Further  since  matter  {rupd)  as  stated  before,  is 
merely  a  particularisation  of  the  confused  mind,  it  is 
clear  enough  that  space  cannot  have  any  independent 
existence.  In  a  word  all  modes  of  relative  existence, 
our  phenomenal  world  as  a  whole,  are  created  simply 
by  the  particularisation  of  the  confused  mind.  If  we 
become  dissociated  from  the  latter,  then  all  modes  of 
relative  existence  vanish  away  by  themselves  ;  while 
the  soul  alone,  in  its  truth  and  suchness,  pervades  the 
whole  universe.  The  soul,  therefore,  that  constitutes 
the  essential  nature  of  the  Tathagata,  cannot  be  com- 
pared with  space,  though  the  latter  may  be  said  to  be 
in  a  certain  limited  sense  eternal  and  real. 

Secondly,  hearing  that  it  is  said  in  the  Sutras 
that  all  things  in  the  world  without  exception  are  per- 


Io8  AfVAGHOSHA'S 

feet  emptiness  {a  ty  ant  a  piny  at  d'),  that  even  Nirvana^  or 
suchness  is  also  perfect  emptiness,  is  devoid  in  its  true 
nature  of  all  characteristics  {lakshand) ,  yet  not  under- 
standing its  purport,  ignorant  people  cling  to  the  view 
that  Nirvana  or  suchness  is  a  nothing,  devoid  of  con- 
tents. 

In  order  that  this  clinging  may  be  eliminated,  be 
it  clearly  understood  that  suchness  or  Dharmakaya  in 
its  self-nature  {svabhdva')  is  not  a  nothing  {^miyatd)  but 
envelopes  in  full  immeasurable  merits  {^guna')  which 
make  up  its  true  nature. 

Thirdly,  hearing  that  it  is  said  in  the  Sutras ^  that 
the  Tathagata's  womb  {^tathdgatagarbha^  envelopes  in 
full  all  kinds  of  merits  which  constituting  its  true  na- 
ture do  neither  suffer  augmentation  nor  diminution, 
yet  not  understanding  its  purport,  ignorant  people 
cling  to  the  view  that  there  is  in  the  Tathagata's 
womb  itself  an  inherent  and  fundamental  distinction 
between  the  two  objects,  matter  {j'tipa)  and  mind 
i^citta') . 

In  order  that  this  clinging  may  be  eliminated,  be 

^  Fa-tsang,  a  commentator  of  the  present  Discourse,  quotes 
the  Mahiij)rajnd-pciram.itd-SMra  as  here  referred  to.  The  Sutra 
says  :  "  Even  Nirvana  is  like  a  mirage,  like  a  dream.  Nay,  if  there 
be  something  superior  to  Nirvana,  I  declare  it  is  also  like  a  mirage, 
like  a  dream." 

^  For  instance,  we  read  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Lankd- 
vatara  Siltra  (translated  into  Chinese  by  (Jiks^nanda):  "The 
Tathagatagarbha  is  in  its  intrinsic  nature  pure,  clean,  eternal, 
permanent,  unintermittent,  and  immutable;  it  embraces  the  thirty- 
two  excellent  qualities,  and  abides  within  the  body  of  all  sentient 
beings,"  etc. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  lOQ 

it  clearly  understood  that  suchness  {I?  hut  at  at  hat  a)  has 
nothing  to  do  with  any  form  of  distinction  produced 
by  defilement,  and  that  even  in  case  we  speak  of  its 
possessing  innumerable  meritorious  characteristics, 
they  are  free  from  the  traces  of  defilement. 

Fourthly,  hearing  that  it  is  said  in  the  Sutras^ 
that  even  all  impure  and  defiled  things  in  the  world  are 
produced  through  the  Tathagata's  womb  {tathdgata- 
garbhci),  and  that  all  things  in  the  world  are  not  at 
variance  with  suchness,  yet  not  understanding  its 
purport,  ignorant  people  imagine  that  the  Tathagata's 
womb  all-containingly  envelopes  all  objects  of  defile- 
ment in  the  world. 

In  order  that  this  clinging  may  be  eliminated,  be 
it  clearly  understood  that  the  Tathagata's  womb  all- 
containingly  envelopes  pure  and  spotless  merits  (^guna') 
which,  outnumbering  the  sands  of  the  Ganges,  are  not 
at  variance  with  suchness  ;  that  the  prejudices  {dgrava 
or  kle^a')  and  defiled  objects,  which  also  outnumber 
the  sands  of  the  Ganges  are  nothing  but  non-entity, 
have  from  the  first  no  self-existence  {svabhdvd),  have 
never  been  in  correspondence  with  the  Tathagata's 
womb ;  that  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
Tathagata's  womb  had  been  corresponding  with  de- 
filed objects,  but  has  now  by  virtue  of  intellectual  in- 
tuition been  freed  from  falsity  and  defilement. 

^  Though  not  exactly  known  to  what  Sutra  or  Siltras  the  ref- 
erence is  made  here,  we  can  easily  find  similar  passages  in  the 
Mahayana  texts,  such  as  the  Lankdvatara,  the  Crtmdld,  etc. 


no  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

Fifthly,  hearing  that  it  is  said  in  the  Sutras^  that 
depending  on  the  Tathagata's  womb,  there  is  birth- 
and-death  {sa7?isdra)  as  well  as  the  attainment  of  Nir- 
vana, yet  not  understanding  its  purport,  ignorant  peo- 
ple imagine  that  depending  on  the  Tathagata's  womb 
there  is  a  beginning  for  birth-and-death,  and  that 
since  there  is  the  beginning,  Nirvana  is  in  turn  sub- 
ject to  extinction. 

In  order  that  this  clinging  may  be  eliminated,  be 
it  clearly  understood  that  as  the  Tathagata's  womb 
has  no  beginning,  ignorance  and  birth-and-death  de- 
pending on  it  have  also  no  beginning  ;  that  it  is  a  view 
held  by  the  tirthaka^  [i.  e.,  the  followers  of  the  Vai9e- 

^  These  are  not  also  exactly  known. 

2  It  is  not  precisely  known  how  many  philosophical  schools, 
called  tirthakas  by  Buddhists,  were  flourishing  just  at  the  time 
of  Apvaghosha.  The  Nirvdna  Siltra  and  the  Vimalakirttinir- 
dega  SUtra  mention  six  of  them  which  were  existing  at  the  time 
of  Buddha:  (i)  Purana  Kapyapa ;  (2)  Maskarin  Gopaliputra ;  (3) 
SaSjayin  Vairattiputra ;  (4)  Ajita  Kepakambala ;  (5)  Kakuda  Katy- 
ayana ;  (6)  Nirgrantha  Jriatiputra.  In  a  commentary  on  the  Vi- 
■iyidnamdtrci-idstra,  however,  which  is  a  later  production  than  this 
Discourse,  twelve  different  tirthaka  schools  are  enumerated.  They 
are:  (i)  the  Samkhya  school;  (2)  the  Vai^esika  school;  (3)  the 
school  which  believes  in  Mahetpvara  as  the  creator ;  (4)  the  school 
which  believes  in  Mahabrahma  as  the  creator ;  (5)  the  school 
which  maintains  that  Time  is  the  creator;  (6)  the  school  which 
maintains  that  Space  is  the  creator  ;  (7)  the  school  which  maintains 
that  Water  is  the  creator ;  (8)  the  school  which  says  that  the  world 
exists  by  itself ;  (9)  the  school  which  says  that  the  creation  comes 
from  Quarters;  (10)  the  school  which  maintains  that  the  Ego  is 
the  principle  of  existence ;  (11)  the  school  which  maintains  the  im- 
mortality of  articulate  sounds,  i.  e. ,  the  Mimamsa  school;  (12)  the 
Lokayatika  school,  an  Indian  materialism.     For  further  references 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  I  I 

sika]  and  not  taught  by  the  Buddha,  to  say  that  there 
are  outside  of  the  three  worlds^  {triloka')  some  other 
beings  coming  into  existence ;  that  the  Tathagata's 
womb  has  no  future  [i.  e. ,  time  of  extinction];  and 
that  those  who  have  an  insight  into  it,  will  eternally 
destroy  the  seeds  of  birth-and-death  and  attain  to 
Nirvana  which  has  also  no  future  [i.  e.,  time  of  extinc- 
tion]. 

These  four^  erroneous  views  have  thus  arisen  from 
the  conception  of  a  personal  atman,  and  so  we  have 
laid  down  the  four  refutations  as  above  mentioned.^ 

b.   Belief  in  the  Existence  of  Atmafi  i?i  Things. 

As  the  World-honored  One  (^Bhagavat),  consider- 
ing the  inferior  intellectual  calibre  of  Cravakas  and 
Pratyekabuddhas,  taught  them  only  the  doctrine  of 
non-personal  atman,  [and  did  not  make  any  further 

see  Dr.  Enryo  Inouye's  Gedo  l^etsugaku  {Philosophical  Systems 
of  the  Ttrthakas),  1897,  Tokyo,  Japan. 

^  They  are  the  world  of  desire  {kdmaloka),  the  world  of  form 
{rilpaloka),  the  world  of  formlessness  [arflpaloka] .  (See  also  p. 
77).  The  kdynaloka  is  divided  into  hells  {7iaraka),  region  of  ghosts 
{;preta),  animal  \iie(tityagyoni),  human  \\ie{ma7iushyaloka),  and 
region  of  gods  (deva);  the  rflpaloka  into  17  heavenly  abodes  corre- 
sponding to  the  three  stages  of  Dhyana ;  the  m-tl^aloka  into  four 
heavenly  abodes.  For  details  see  the  second  chapter  of  the  Abhi- 
dharmakofa- Cdstra,  by  Vasubandhu. 

2  The  number  "four"  in  this  paragraph  should  be  "five,"  for 
the  author  enumerates  five  misunderstandings  and  their  refuta- 
tions, as  we  have  seen. 

^  The  whole  passage  is  missing  in  the  older  translation. 


112  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

demonstration  of  the  doctrine],  the  people  have  in 
the  meantime  formed  a  fixed  idea  on  the  transitori- 
ness  of  the  five  skandhas,^  and,  being  terrified  at  the 
thought  of  birth  and  death,  have  fanatically  craved 
for  Nirvana. 

In  order  that  this  clinging  may  be  eliminated,  be 
it  clearly  understood  that  the  essence  of  the  five 
skandhas  is  uncreate,  there  is  no  annihilation  of  them  ; 
that  since  there  is  no  annihilation  of  them,  they  are 
^n  their  [metaphysical]  origin  Nirvana  itself ;  that  if 
one  be  absolutely  freed  from  particularisation  and  at- 
tachment, one  will  understand  that  all  things  both 
pure  and  defiled  have  only  relative  existence. 

Be  it  therefore  known  that  all  things  in  the  world 
from  the  beginning  are  neither  matter  {I'llpa),  no^ 
mind  {citta'),  nor  intelligence  {prajnd),  nor  conscious- 
ness (vijndnd),  nor  non-being  {abhdva),  nor  being 
{bhdva) ;  they  are  after  all  inexplicable.  The  reason 
why  the  Tathagata  nevertheless  endeavors  to  instruct 
by  means  of  words  and  definitions  is  through  his  good 
and  excellent  skilfulness  [or  expediency,  updya-kau- 
Qalya].'^  He  only  provisionally  makes  use  of  words 
and  definitions  to  lead  all  beings,  while  his  real  object 
is  to  make  them  abandon  symbolism  and  directly  enter 

^  See  p.  104,  footnote. 

2  See  the  second  chapter  of  the  Saddarmafujidarika  Sfitra, 
in  which  Buddha  teaches  how  the  only  one  y^na  (vehicle)  is  split 
through  his  transcendental  updya  (skilfulness  or  expediency)  into 
three  yanas:  ^ravakayina,  Pratyekabuddhayana,  andBodhisattva- 
yina. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  II 3 

into  the  real  reality  {tattva).  Because  if  they  indulge 
themselves  in  reasonings,  attach  themselves  to  soph- 
istry, and  thus  foster  their  subjective  particularisation, 
how  could  they  have  the  true  wisdom  {tattvajndna) 
and  attain  to  Nirvana? 

J.    Ways  of  Practising  the  Right  Path. 

By  this  we  mean  that  all  Bodhisattvas,  by  their 
aspiration  {cittotpddaY  and  discipline  {carydcaratta^ , 
will  be  able  to  attain  to  the  reason  that  made  all  Ta- 
thagatas  perceive  the  path  (ntdrga). 

Briefly  stated,  there  are  three  kinds  of  aspira- 
tion :  (i)  Aspiration  through  the  perfection  of  faith  ; 
(2)  Aspiration  through  knowledge  and  practice  ;  (3) 
Aspiration  through  intellectual  intuition. 

By  whom,  and  by  which  deeds,  can  faith  {^raddhd^ 
be  perfected  and  can  the  aspiration  be  awakened? 

Now  the  people  who  belong  to  the  group  of  incon- 

1  Aspiration  which  does  not  exactly  correspond  to  the  Chinese 
fall  hsin  and  Sanskrit  cittotpcida,  has  been  retained  for  lack  of 
a  fitter  term.  It  has  a  technical  sense  in  Buddhism.  Literally, 
fall  or  utpdda  means  producing,  raising,  or  awakening,  while 
hsin  or  citta  as  noticed  elsewhere  is  mind,  thought,  or  conscious- 
ness. Cittopdda,  however,  is  more  than  the  raising  of  one's  thought 
to  a  higher  religious  life ;  it  means  the  recognition  of  the  truth  that 
one  is  in  possession  within  oneself  of  the  highest  perfect  knowl- 
edge {samyaksambodhi)  ;  it  is  the  birth  within  oneself  of  a  higher 
ethical  impulse  constituting  the  essence  of  religion.  A  fuller  form 
oifah  hsi7i  is  fah  bodhi  hsin  or  fah  afiiittarasamyaksavibodhi 
hshi.  See  the  Mahayana  Sutras  such  as  the  Saddharma  Punda- 
rika,  Vaj'racchedikd,  Sukhdvati  Vytiha,  Lankdvatara,  Ava- 
tamsaka,  etc. 


114  AfVAGHOSHA  S 

stancy  {aniyataraQi^,^  by  virtue  of  their  root  of  merit 
{kugalanmla),  which  has  a  perfuming  power,  firmly  be- 
lieve in  the  retribution  of  karma,  practise  the  ten  vir- 
tues {da(;akugaldni^,'^  \od.t\\e  the  sufferings  of  birth  and 
death,  seek  after  the  most  excellent  enlightenment 
{Samyaksa7nbodhi')^  and  seeing  Buddhas  and  Bodhisatt- 
vas  they  wait  on  them,  make  offerings  to  them,  disci- 
pline themselves  in  many  [meritorious]  deeds  ;  and 
after  the  lapse  of  ten  thousand  kalpas  (eons),  their 
faith  will  finally  be  perfected. 

Since  then  either  by  virtue  of  the  instruction  re- 
ceived from  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  or  on  account 
of  their  deep  compassion  (piahdkarund) ,  or  from  their 
desire  to  preserve  the  right  doctrine  {saddhafma) 
against  its  corruption,  their  aspiration  [to  the  highest 
truth]  will  be  awakened. 

After  having   awakened  the    aspiration  they  will 

^  There  are  three  groups  of  people  :  (i)  Those  who  are  con- 
stantly abiding  in  absolute  truth  {samyaktvayiiyata-rdgi);  (2) 
Those  who  are  constantly  abiding  in  falsehood  {mithydtva^iiyata- 
>'dfi)  ;  (3)  Those  who  are  inconstant  {aniyata-rdfi). 

2  The  ten  virtues  [da(aku(ahhii)  consist  in  not  committing  the 
ten  evils  {dafdkiifahhii)  which  are  as  follows  :  (i)  Killing  a  living 
being  {^rchiiUt;pdda)  ;  (2)  Stealing  {adattdddna) ;  (3)  Committing 
adultery  {kdmamithydcdtra)  ;  (4)  Lying  {??irs/idz'dc7a)  ;  (5)  Slander 
{pai(U7iya)  ;  (6)  Insulting  speech  {;pd7'ushya)  ;  (7)  Frivolous  talk 
{sambhitmafraldfa)  ;  (8)  Avarice  [abhidhya)  ;  (9)  Evil  intent 
(vydpdda);  (10)  False  view  {mithydd^-shthi) .  The  ten  evils  here 
enumerated  should  be  avoided  by  the  lay  members  of  Buddhism. 
For  the  ^ramaneras  there  is  a  different  set  of  precepts  specially 
intended  for  them,  called  the  /^afaiikshaj^ada,  with  which  the 
ten  virtues  must  not  be  confused  as  they  are  by  some. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  II 5 

enter  into  the  group  of  constant  truth  {samyaktvani- 
yata-rd^i)  and  never  relapse,  always  abiding  in  the 
essence  of  the  Buddha-seed  and  identifying  themselves 
with  its  excellent  principle. 

There  is,  however,  a  certain  class  of  people  whose 
root  of  merit  {ku^alamula)  from  time  immemorial  is 
poor,  and  whose  prejudices  {klepa  or  d^rava)  are  in- 
tense, deepl}^  veiling  their  minds.  Such  people,  even 
if  they  see  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  wait  on  them, 
and  make  offerings  to  them,  will  sow  merely  the  seeds 
of  men  {nianushya)  and  gods  {devd)  [i.  e.,  they  will  be 
born  in  the  future  as  men  or  gods],  or  the  seeds  of 
the  enlightenment  of  ^ravakas  and  Pratyekabuddhas 
[i.  e.,  their  attainment  would  not  be  higher  than  that 
of  (Jravakas  or  Pratyekabuddhas]. 

Some  of  them  may  even  aspire  to  seek  after  the 
Mahabodhi,^  but  owing  to  the  instability  of  their  char- 
acter, they  will  ever  osciliate  between  progress  and 
retrogression. 

Some  of  them,  happening  to  see  Buddhas  and 
Bodhisattvas,  may  make  offerings  to  them,  wait  on 
them,  practise  many  [meritorious]  deeds,  and,  while 
ten  thousand  mahakalpas  (aeons)  are  not  yet  elapsed, 
may  meantime  come  into  some  favorable  circum- 
stances and  thereby  awake  aspiration.  What  are 
those  favorable  circumstances?  For  instance,  they 
may  witness  the  personal  figure  of  a  Buddha,  or  may 
make  some  offerings  to   the  congregation   of  priests 

^  The  older  translation  reads  "  Mahayana." 


ii6  a(;vaghosha's 

{samghd),  or  may  be  instructed  by  Qravakas  or  Pra- 
tyekabuddhas,  or  may  be  moved  by  seeing  others  as- 
pire [to  the  highest  truth]. 

But  this  kind  of  aspiration  as  a  rule  is  not  con- 
stant. In  case  they  come  into  unfavorable  circum- 
stances, the}^  ma}^  happen  to  fall  down  to  the  stage  of 
(^ravakahood  or  Pratyekabuddhahood. 

Now,  briefly  speaking,  three  faculties  of  the  soul 
will  be  awakened  by  the  perfection  of  faith  :  (i)  right- 
ness  of  comprehension  [lit.,  right,  straiglit  mind],  for 
it  truthfully  and  intuitively  contemplates  suchness 
{bhutatathata)\  (2)  profundity  of  virtue  [lit.,  deep, 
heavy  mind],  for  it  rejoices  in  accumulating  all  good 
deeds;  (3)  greatness  of  compassion  (jnahdkaj'tmd),  for 
it  desires  to  uproot  the  miseries  {duhkha)  of  all  be- 
ings. 

It  may  be  asked  whether  there  is  ever  an}'  need 
for  one  to  discipline  oneself  in  all  good  deeds  and  to 
try  to  save  mankind,  since  all  sentient  beings  {sarva- 
sattvd)  as  well  as  all  things  {sarvadharvia)  in  the  world, 
abiding  in  the  oneness  of  the  universe  {^dharmadhatu) 
that  has  no  second,  will,  as  can  be  logically  inferred, 
have  nothing  to  do  but  calmly  to  contemplate  such- 
ness. 

In  reply  we  say,  yes.  Because  the  mind  may  be 
likened  unto  a  precious  jewel  which  is  pure  and  bright 
in  its  essence  but  buried  in  a  gross  veinstone.  Now 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  one  can  make  it 
clean  and  pure  only  by  contemplating  it,  and  without 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  II7 

applying  any  means  [of  purification]  or  a  degree  of 
workmanship. 

It  is  even  the  same  with  suchness.  Though  it  is 
pure  and  bright  in  its  essence  and  sufficiently  envel- 
opes all  merits  {gima),  yet  it  is  deeply  buried  in  in- 
finite external  defilements.  And  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  a  man  can  make  it  pure  and  clean  only 
by  earnest  contemplation  on  it,  and  without  trying 
any  means  [of  emancipation]  or  of  discipline. 

It  is  therefore  an  urgent  necessity  that  all  good 
deeds  should  be  accumulated,  that  all  beings  should 
be  delivered,  that  those  infinite  external  defilements 
and  impurities  should  be  cast  off,  that  the  true  doc- 
trine should  be  revealed. 

With  regard  to  ''means"  [or  ''skilfulness,"  updya] 
there  are,  briefly  stated,  four  kinds. 

The  first  one  is  called  the  means  of  practising  the 
fundamental  [truth,  mula].  That  is  to  say,  by  con- 
templating the  true  essence  of  all  dharmas,  which,  be- 
ing uncreate  and  free  from  imagination,  is  not  con- 
cerned with  the  metempsychosis  of  birth  and  death, 
and  by  contemplating  the  truth  that  all  things  origi- 
nate from  the  co-operation  of  the  principle  {Jietii)  and 
the  causes  {pratyaya'),  and  that  the  retribution  of 
karma  is  irrevocable,  one  will  evoke  deep  compassion, 
discipline  oneself  in  all  good  deeds,  embrace  and  con- 
vert all  beings,  and  not  dwell  in  Nirvana,  since  such- 
ness [in  its  absolute  aspect]  has  nothing  to  do  with 
Nirvana   or  with    birth-and-death.     As    this  attitude 


ii8  a^vaghosha's 

[towards  all  objects]  is  in  accord  [with  the  nature  of 
suchness],  it  is  called  the  means  of  practising  the 
[fundamental]  truth. 

The  second  one  is  called  the  means  of  abeyance. 
That  is,  by  feehng  shame  and  remorse,  one  may  put 
an  end  to  all  evils  and  not  let  them  grow,  since  such- 
ness is  free  from  all  marks  of  imperfection.  Thus  to 
be  in  accord  with  suchness  and  to  put  an  end  to  all 
evils  is  called  the  means  of  abeyance. 

The  third  one  is  called  the  means  of  strengthening 
the  root  of  merits  {ku^alamuld) .  By  raising  reveren- 
tial feelings  toward  the  Triple  Treasure  {triratnd),  one 
will  revere,  make  offerings  to,  pay  homage  to,  praise, 
rejoice  in,  and  beseech  the  Triple  Treasure  ;  and  there- 
upon one's  orthodox  faith  being  strengthened,  one  will 
at  last  awake  a  desire  for  the  most  excellent  knowl- 
edge {bodhiparinishpatti~) .  Through  the  protection  of 
the  majestic  power  of  the  Buddha,  Dharma,  and  Sam- 
gha,  one's  karma-hindrances  {kanndvarafia)  will  now 
get  purified  and  one's  root  of  merit  firmly  established ; 
because  suchness  is  free  from  all  hindrances  and  en- 
velopes all  merits.  Thus  to  be  in  accord  wuth  such- 
ness and  to  practise  good  deeds  is  called  the  means  of 
strengthening  the  root  of  merits. 

The  fourth  one  is  called  the  universal  means  of 
great  vows  {fnahdpranidhcifia).  That  is,  one  may  make 
the  vow  that  in  ages  to  come  all  beings  should  uni- 
versally be  delivered  and  take  refuge  at  ease  in  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH  I19 

Anupadhi9esa  Nirvana,^  because  the  true  nature  of  all 
objects  is  free  from  relativity,  is  one  and  the  same, 
making  no  distinction  between  this  and  that,  and  is 
absolutely  calm  and  tranquil.  Thus  to  be  in  accord 
with  the  three  attributes  [i.  e.,  non-relativity,  same- 
ness, tranquillity]  of  suchness  and  to  make  such  a 
great  vow  is  called  the  universal  means  of  great  vows. 
[Now  to  return  to  the  former  subject],  when  the 
Bodhisattva  thus  aspires  to  the  highest  truth,  he  is 
able  to  have  a  partial  insight  into  the  Dharmakaya  of 
the  Buddha  ;  and  according  to  the  power  of  the  vow 
{pranidhdnava^a),  he  performs  eight  things,  to  wit, 
his  descent  from  the  palace  in  the  Tushita  heaven^ 

^  Mahay^nists  in  general  distinguish  four  aspects  of  Nirvina ; 
(i)  Nirvana  that  is  pure  and  spotless  in  its  self-nature,  i.  e.,  abso- 
lute suchness,  possessed  equally  by  all  beings ;  (2)  Nirvana  that 
has  remnant  {upadhi(esa),  i.  e. ,  a  state  of  relative  suchness,  which, 
though  freed  from  the  affectional  hindrance  [klefdvaratia),  is  still 
under  the  fetter  of  materiality,  which  causes  sufifering  and  misery; 
(3)  Nirvana  that  has  no  remnant  [ami^adhifesa),  i.  e.,  a  state  of 
relative  suchness  which  is  free  from  the  misery  of  birth  and  death, 
being  entirely  liberated  from  the  fetter  of  materiality  ;  (4)  Nirvana 
that  has  no  fixed  abode,  i.  e.,  a  state  of  suchness  in  its  spontaneous 
activity  which  is  free  from  the  intellectual  hindrance  {jiieyd- 
varafia)  and  full  of  love  and  wisdom,  believes  neither  in  birth- 
and-death  nor  in  Nirvana,  but  eternally  abiding  in  the  suchness  of 
things  benefits  all  sentient  beings,  ^ravakas  and  Pratyekabuddhas 
can  recognise  the  first  three  aspects  of  Nirvana,  but  the  last  one  is 
known  only  to  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas.  For  further  details  see 
the  tenth  volume  of  the  Vijiidnarndtrasiddhi  Cdstra,  translated 
into  Chinese  by  Hiian-tsang. 

2  One  of  the  six  heavenly  abodes  of  the  Kdmaloka  (world  of 
desire).  The  heavenly  abodes  are:  (i)  Region  of  the  four  kings 
of  the  cardinal  points  {mahdrdjakdyika)  ;  (2)  that  of  the  thirty- 


I20  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

[to  this  world],  his  entrance  into  the  human  womb, 
his  stay  therein,  his  birth,  his  renunciation,  his  attain- 
ment of  Buddhahood,  his  revolution  of  the  Dharma- 
wheel  {d/iar?nacakra),  and  lastly  his  Parinirvana. 

He  is  not,  however,  as  yet  to  be  called  absolute 
Dharmaka3^a,  for  he  has  not  yet  completely  destroyed 
the  impure^  karma  that  has  been  accumulated  during 
his  numberless  existences  in  the  past ;  perchance  by 
the  influence  of  the  evil  karma  he  may  suffer  a  little 
amount  of  misery.  But  he  suffers  it  only  for  a  short 
time,  and  this  not  because  of  his  being  fettered  by  the 
evil  karma,  but  because  of  his  own  vow-power  {pra- 
nidhdnava^a)  [which  he  made  for  the  universal  eman- 
cipation of  mankind]. 

It  is  sometimes  said  in  the  Sutra^  that  even  those 
Bodhisattvas  who  aspired  [to  the  highest  truth]  through 
the  perfection  of  their  faith  might  relapse  and  fall 
down  to  the  evil  creation  (^apdyagati^.^     But  this  was 

three  gods  {trAyastrin(d) ;  (3)  the  Ydmd ;  (4)  the  Tushita ;  (5) 
the  Ni7-mdnatis  ;  (6)  the  Paranirmita-va(avati7is.  See  also  the 
note  to  Triloka,  p.  77. 

^  The  term  impure  does  not  mean  immoral,  but  relative,  con- 
ditional, dualistic  or  material,  in  contradistinction  to  pure,  abso- 
lute, unconditional,  spiritual,  etc. 

2  For  instance,  it  is  stated  in  the  second  fasciculus  of  the  Bo- 
dhisatLva-kusiimamciM-pflri'akarma  Sfltra  {?  P'u-sa  ying-lo 
pen-yeh  Ching  in  Chinese,  translated  by  Fo-nien  towards  the  end 
of  the  third  century)  that  those  Bodhisattvas  who  have  not  yet  en- 
tered on  the  eighth  stage  (there  are  ten  stages)  of  Bodhisattvahood 
may  happen  to  relapse  in  his  religious  course,  if  not  be  able  to 
receive  instruction  in  the  Dharma  from  some  fully  enlightened 
teachers. 

•^  Three  of  the  ^w  gatis  are  ^o.  apdyagati  {pvW  path)  :  Hell 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  121 

only  said  to  encourage  those  novices  who  are  apt  to 
give  themselves  up  to  indulgence  and  so  may  fail  to 
enter  into  the  right  order  [i.  e,,  samyaktvaniyata], 
though  they  may  not  really  fall  down  [into  the  evil 
path]. 

Further  the  Bodhisattva  has  since  his  first  aspira- 
tion disciplined  himself  in  those  deeds  which  are  ben- 
eficial both  to  himself  and  others,  and  thereby  his 
heart  has  become  free  from  timidity,  inasmuch  as  he 
would  not  shudder  even  at  the  thought  of  falling  down 
to  the  stage  of  Qravakahood  or  Prayekabuddhahood, 
any  more  than  to  the  evil  creation  {apdyagati^. 

If  he  learn  that  he  is  able  to  attain  to  Buddha - 
hood  only  after  an  assiduous  observance  of  various 
rules  of  austerity  and  mortification  during  immeasur- 
able asamkheya-kalpas,^  he  will  never  be  frightened 
nor  will  he  falter.  How  then  could  he  ever  raise  such 
thoughts  as  cherished  by  (Jravakas  or  Pratyekabud- 
dhas?  How  then  could  he  fall  down  to  the  evil  crea- 
tion {apdyagati^}  He  has  a  firm  faith  in  the  truth 
that  all  things  {sarvadhar^na)  from  the  beginning  are 
in  their  nature  Nirvana  itself.'^ 


{ndraka)  ;  ghost  {^reta)  ;  and  animal  life  {tiryagyoyii).     Some- 
times demon  {asurd)  is  added  to  make  the  fourth. 

^For  an  explanation  see.  87,  footnote. 

2  The  same  monistic  idea  is  expressed  also  in  the  following 
famous  phrases  :  "Apravas  (desires  or  prejudices)  are  nothing  but 
Bodhi  (enlightenment),  and  birth-and-death  (or  this  world  of  trans- 
formation) is  nothing  but  Nirvana."  Individuation  is  the  product 
of  subjectivity  ;  the  universe  in  reality  is  one  great  whole. 


122  AyVAGHOSHA'S 

This  sort  of  aspiration  (^cittoipddd)  is  more  excel- 
lent than  the  former,  because  the  first  asamkheya- 
kalpa  of  Bodhisattvas  of  this  class  is  approaching  to 
an  end,  because  they  have  attained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  suchness,  because  all  their  acts  are  performed 
without  any  stain  of  attachment. 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  being 
free  from  the  trace  of  covetousness,  is  the  perfection 
of  pure  and  stainless  charity  {dd?iapdramitd),  they  in 
conformity  to  it  practise  charity  (ddnapdramitd^ . 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  being 
free  from  the  influence  of  the  five  sensual  passions, 
and,  having  nothing  to  do  with  immorality,  is  the  per- 
fection of  pure  and  stainless  morality  {gilapdramitd), 
they  in  conformity  to  it  practise  morality  {^ilapdra- 
mitd). 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  hav- 
ing nothing  to  do  with  grievance  and  being  free  from 
malice,  is  the  perfection  of  pure  and  stainless  patience 
[kshdntipdramitd),  they  in  conformity  to  it  practise  pa- 
tience {kshdntipdra7nitd). 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  being 
free  from  physical  and  mental  limitations  and  having 
nothing  to  do  with  indolence,  is  the  perfection  of  pure 
and  stainless  energy  {vhyapd?'a?nitd) ,  they  in  conform- 
ity to  it  practise  energy  {j)iryapdra??ntd). 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  hav- 
ing nothing  to  do  with  disturbance  or  confusion,  is 
the    perfection   of  pure   and   stainless  tranquilisation 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 23 

{dhydnapdraitiita),  they  in  conformity  to  it  practise 
tranquilisation  {dhydnapdramita). 

As  they  know  that  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  being 
free  from  the  darkness  of  ignorance,  is  the  perfection 
of  pure  and  stainless  wisdom  {_prajndpdramitd),  they 
in  conformity  to  it  practise  wisdom  {prajndpdramitd). 

What  is  the  object  of  which  the  Bodhisattva 
from  the  stage  of  pure-heartedness  up  to  the  height 
of  Bodhisattvahood  has  attained  an  intellectual  intui- 
tion? The  object  is  no  less  than  suchness  itself.  We 
call  it  an  object  on  account  of  the  evolving-con- 
sciousness  {pravrtti-vijndna).  But  in  truth  there  is 
no  object  in  perfect  intellectual  intuition,  neither  is 
there  a  subject  in  it  ;  because  the  Bodhisattva  by 
means  of  his  wisdom  of  non-particularisation  intui- 
tively perceives  suchness  {bhutatathata)  or  Dharma- 
kaya,  which  is  beyond  the  range  of  demonstration  and 
argumentation. 

Thus  he  is  able  in  a  moment  to  go  over  all  the 
worlds  in  the  ten  quarters  and  to  make  offerings 
to  all  Buddhas  and  to  beseech  them  to  revolve  the 
Wheel  of  the  Dharma  {darmacakrapravartana) .  His 
sole  desire  being  to  benefit  all  beings,  he  does  not 
care  for  any  melodious  sounds  or  words  [which  he  can 
enjoy  in  his  heavenly  abode]. ^  In  order  to  encour- 
age weak-hearted  people,  he  shows  great  energy  and 

^  In  the  older  translation  we  read  :  "  Having  in  view  only  the 
emancipation  and  beneficence  of  all  beings,  he  [Bodhisattva]  does 
not  rely  on  words  and  characters." 


124  AfVAGHOSHA'S 

attains  to  perfect  enlightenment  {cifiuttarasamyaksam- 
bodht),  all  at  once  annihilating  the  lapse  of  immeas- 
urable asamkheyakalpas.  Or  in  order  to  instigate  in- 
dolent people,  he  sometimes  attains  to  Buddhahood 
only  after  long  discipline  and  mortification  through 
the  period  of  immeasurable  asamkheyakalpas.  The 
reason  why  he  achieves  in  this  wise  infinite  methods 
{itpdyd)  [of  salvation]  is  that  he  wishes  thereby  to 
benefit  all  beings.^ 

But  in  fact  the  intrinsic  nature,  the  faculties,  the 
aspiration,  and  the  intellectual  attainment  of  all  Bo- 
dhisattvas  are  equal  [in  value]  and  there  is  not  any 
scale  of  gradation  in  them.  Because  they  will  all 
equally  and  assuredly  attain  to  the  most  perfect  en- 
lightenment, only  after  the  elapsing  of  three  asam- 
kheyakalpas. Yet  as  there  are  differences  in  various 
states  of  existence  regarding  their  objects  of  seeing, 
hearing,  etc.,  as  well  as  regarding  their  faculties,  their 
desires,  and  their  character ;  so  there  are  correspond- 
ingly many  different  forms  of  religious  discipline  [des- 
stined  to]  them. 

Three  different  operations  of  the  mind  are  revealed 
in  this  aspiration  by  means  of  intellectual  intuition  : 
(i)  Pure  consciousness  originating  in  the  mind  as  it 
becomes  free  from  particularisation;  (2)  moral  con- 
sciousness [lit.,  updya-citta?']  originating  in  the  mind 

'  The  older  translation  reads:  "It  is  out  of  [human]  compre- 
hension that  he  [Bodhisattva]  can  achieve  such  innumerable  meth- 
ods [of  salvation]." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  25 

as  it  Spontaneously  performs  those  deeds  which  are 
beneficent  to  others  ;  (3)  unconscious  activity  {karma- 
vijndnacittd)  originating  in  the  mind  as  it  achieves  a 
most  hidden  mode  of  activity. 

Again  the  Bodhisattva,  having  attained  to  the  per- 
fection of  bliss  and  wisdom,  which  are  his  two  marks 
of  adornment,  has  in  reaching  the  height  of  evolution 
{aka7iishtha)  also  obtained  the  most  venerable  and  ex- 
cellent body  in  the  whole  universe.  By  means  of  that 
knowledge  which  intuitively  identifies  itself  [with  en- 
lightenment a  priori^^  he  has  all  at  once  uprooted 
ignorance ;  and  thus  obtaining  omniscience  {sarvdkd- 
rajndna),^  he  spontaneously  achieves  incomprehensible 
[or  divine]  deeds  {acintyakarina),  reveals  himself  in 
immeasurable  worlds  in  the  ten  quarters,  and  works 
out  the  universal  emancipation  of  mankind. 

A  question  arises  here.  As  space  is  infinite,  worlds 
are  infinite.  As  worlds  are  infinite,  beings  are  infinite. 
As  beings  are  infinite,  the  modes  of  mentation  are  also 
infinitely  diversified.  And  as  all  these  objects  and 
conditions  {vishayd)  have  no  limits,  they  can  hardly 
be  known  or  understood  [in  all  their  multitudinous- 
ness].     If,  now,  ignorance  being  destroyed,  all  modes 

^  A  distinction  is  sometimes  made  between  Sarvdkdrajndna, 
Sarvajndna  and  Mdrgajndna  :  SarvdkdraJ7idna  is  the  knowl- 
edge by  which  we  are  enabled  to  know  all  forms  and  manifesta- 
tions in  their  fundamental  oneness ;  Sarvajndyia  is  simply  the 
knowledge  of  all  things,  or  omniscience ;  Mdrgajndna  is  the 
knowledge  by  which  we  can  recognise  the  path  leading  to  final 
emancipation.     But  they  are  practically  the  same. 


126  a^vaghosha's 

of  mentation  are  entirely  annihilated  as  well,  how 
can  the  Bodhisattva  understand  all  things  and  com- 
plete his  omniscience  (ySarvdkdrajndna)  ? 

In  reply  we  say  :  All  so-called  illusory  phenomena 
are  in  truth  from  the  beginning  what  they  are;  and 
their  essence  is  nothing  but  the  one  soul  [or  mind]. 
Though  ignorant  minds  that  cling  to  illusory  objects 
cannot  understand  that  all  things  are  in  their  nature 
the  highest  reality  (^paramdrtha'),  all  Buddha-Tatha- 
gatas  being  free  from  clinging  [or  particularising]  are 
able  to  have  an  insight  into  the  true  nature  of  things. 
And  by  virtue  of  their  great  wisdom  they  illuminate 
all  distinctions  between  the  defiled  and  the  pure ; 
through  their  immeasurable  and  inexhaustible  sources 
of  expediency  {updyakau^alya) ,  which  is  good  and  ex- 
cellent, they  benefit  and  gladden  all  beings  according 
to  the  latters'  various  necessities  and  capabilities. 
Therefore  the  mind  that  is  saturated  with  subjectivity 
is  annihilated,  while  all  things  are  understood  and 
omniscience  {sarvdkdrajndna)  is  attained.^ 

^  The  older  translation  reads  :  "In  reply  we  say  :  All  phenom- 
enal objecs  {vishaya)  are  from  the  beginning  [or  in  their  metaphys- 
ical origin]  of  the  one  mind  which  is  free  from  imagination  and 
subjectivity.  As  all  beings  illusively  perceive  the  existence  of  the 
phenomenal  world  (t'/^/zaja),  they  impose  limitations  on  the  mind. 
As  they  thus  illusively  cherish  imagination  and  subjectivity,  which 
are  not  in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  the  Dharma,  they  cannot 
thoroughly  understand  it.  All  Buddha-Tathagatas  are,  however, 
free  from  illusive  perception,  and  [therefore  their  knowledge  is] 
omniscient,  because  the  mind  constituting  the  principle  of  all  things 
is  true  and  valid.  The  self-essence  [of  all  Buddhas]  illuminates 
all  illusive  phenomena,  possesses  a  great  wisdom-activity  and  in- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 27 

Another  question  presents  itself  here :  If  all  Bud- 
dhas  who  are  in  possession  of  infinite  expediencies 
{updya)  can  spontaneously  benefit  all  beings  in  the 
ten  quarters,  why  is  it  that  the  latter  cannot  always 
see  Buddhas  in  person,  or  witness  their  divine  trans- 
formations, or  hear  their  instructions  in  the  Doctrine? 

The  reply  is  :  Tathagatas  are  really  in  possession 
of  those  expediencies,  and  they  are  only  waiting  to 
reveal  themselves  to  all  beings  as  soon  as  the  latter 
can  purify  their  own  minds. ^ 

When  a  mirror  is  covered  with  dust,  it  cannot  re- 
flect images.  It  can  do  so  only  when  it  is  free  from 
stain.  It  is  even  the  same  with  all  beings.  If  their 
minds  are  not  clear  of  stain,  the  Dharmakaya  cannot 
reveal  itself  in  them.  But  if  they  be  freed  from  stain, 
then  it  will  reveal  itself. 

IV.  PRACTICE  OF  FAITH. 

In  what  does  the  practice  of  faith  {^raddhd)  con- 
sist? 

This  part  of  the  Discourse  is  intended  for  those 
beings  who  have  not  yet  entered  into  the  order  of  con- 
stant truth  {samyaktvaniyata-rd^i'). 

numerable  means  [of  salvation],  whereby,  according  to  the  intel- 
lectual capacity  of  all  beings,  they  can  reveal  to  them  various 
significances  of  the  Doctrine.  Therefore  it  is  called  the  Sarvd- 
kdrajndna." 

^  In  the  older  translation  we  read  :  ' '  The  Dharmakaya  of  all 
Buddha-Tathagatas  is  universal  {samatd)di.nd  pervades  every  thing; 
it  is  free  from  compulsion  and  therefore  spontaneous,  manifesting 
itself  through  the  minds  of  all  beings." 


128  a^vaghosha's 

What  is  meant  by  faith?  How  should  one  prac- 
tise faith? 

There  are  four  aspects  of  faith.  [As  to  faith  in 
general]:  (i)  To  believe  in  the  fundamental  [truth], 
that  is,  to  think  joyfully  of  suchness  {bJmtatathata). 
[As  to  particular  faiths :]  (2)  To  believe  in  the  Bud- 
dha as  sufficingly  enveloping  infinite  merits,  that  is, 
to  rejoice  in  worshipping  him,  in  paying  homage  to 
him,  in  making  offerings  to  him,  in  hearing  the  good 
doctrine  {saddharvia),  in  disciplining  oneself  according 
to  the  doctrine,  and  in  aspiring  after  omniscience 
{sarvajndnd).  (3)  To  believe  in  the  Dharma  as  having 
great  benefits,  that  is,  to  rejoice  always  in  practising 
all  paramitas.  (4)  To  believe  in  the  Samgha  as  ob- 
serving true  morality,  that  is,  to  be  ready  to  make 
offerings  to  the  congregation  of  Bodhisattvas,  and  to 
practise  truthfully  all  those  deeds  which  are  beneficial 
at  once  to  oneself  and  others. 

Faith  will  be  perfected  by  practising  the  following 
five  deeds:  (i)  charity  {ddna)  \  (2)  morality  {(;ila)\ 
(3)  patience  {kshdnti);  (4)  energy  (z;/Vj'^) ;  (5)  cessa- 
tion [or  tranquilisation,  rafuatha']  and  intellectual  in- 
sight {yidar^ana  or  vipapyand). 

How  should  people  practise  charity  {ddnd)} 

(i)  If  persons  come  and  ask  them  for  something, 
they  should,  as  far  as  their  means  allow,  supply  it 
ungrudgingly  and  make  them  rejoice  in  it.  (2)  If  they 
see  people  threatened  with  danger,  they  should  try 
every  means  of  rescuing   them    and  impart  to  them  a 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  29 

feeling  of  fearlessness  {vai^dradya).  (3)  If  they  have 
people  who  come  to  them  desiring  instruction  in  the 
Doctrine,  they  should,  so  far  as  they  are  acquainted 
with  it,  and,  according  to  their  own  discretion,  de- 
liver speeches  on  religious  discipline. 

And  when  they  are  performing  those  three  acts  of 
charity,  let  them  not  cherish  any  desire  for  fame  or 
advantages,  nor  covet  any  worldly  rewards.  Only 
thinking  of  those  benefits  and  blessings  that  are  at 
once  for  themselves  and  others,  let  them  aspire  to  the 
most  excellent,  most  perfect  knowledge  {anuttarasain- 
yaksambodhi'). 

How  should  they  practise  morality  {^ila)  ? 

Those  Bodhisattvas  who  have  families  [i.  e.,  lay 
members  of  Buddhism]  should  abstain  from  killing, 
stealing,  adultery,  lying,  duplicity,  slander,  frivolous 
talk,  covetousness,  malice,  currying  favor,  and  false 
doctrines.^' 

In  the  case  of  ^ramanas,  they  should,  in  order  to 
vanquish  all  prejudices  {kle^a  or  d^ravd),  retire  from 
the  boisterousness  of  worldly  life,  and,  abiding  in 
solitude  {aranyd),  should  practise  those  deeds  which 
lead  to  moderation  and  contentment  as  well  as  those 
of  the  Dhutaguna.2     Even   at  the  violation  of  minor 

^  Apvaghosha  evidently  refers  to  the  ten  virtues  [dagahtiia- 
Idni),  for  which  see  p.  114,  though  this  list  counts  more  than  ten. 

-  There  are  twelve  dhutagunas  or  dhutagangas  to  be  observed 
by  Bhikshus  ;  dh{lta  means  shaking  off,  that  is,  shaking  off  the 
dust  of  evil  passions  :  (i)  Paiyidafdtika,  the  rule  to  live  on  what- 
ever food  they  can  get  by  begging  from  door  to  door,  that  they 


130  a?vaghosha's 

rules  {s'lld)  they  should  deeply  feel  fear,  shame,  and 
remorse.  Strictly  observing  all  those  precepts  given 
by  the  Tathagata,  they  should  not  call  forth  the  blame 
or  disgust  of  the  outsider,  but  they  should  endeavor 
to  induce  all  beings  to  abandon  the  evil  and  to  prac- 
tise the  good.^ 

How  should  they  practise  patience  {kshdntt)} 

If  they  meet  with  the  ills  of  life  they  should  not 

may  become  free  from  egotism.  (2)  Traicivarika,  the  rule  allow- 
ing the  possession  of  three  clothings :  SamghiUi,  dress  made  of 
scraps  ;  UttarasamgMti,  outer  robe  ;  Antaravdsaka ,  something 
like  skirt.  (3)  Khalufaicadbhaktika,  the  prohibition  of  taking 
any  food  or  beverage  when  the  proper  time  is  over,  lest  their 
attention  should  be  disturbed.  {^)  N'aishadhyika ,  to  be  in  a  sitting 
attitude  while  sleeping,  that  they  may  not  become  over-indolent- 
(5)  Yathdsamstarika,  spreading  a  night-couch  where  they  happen 
to  be.  (6)  Vj-kshamMika,  sitting  under  a  tree.  (7)  Ekdsam'ka, 
taking  one  meal  in  a  day,  that  their  mental  energy  may  not  be 
weakened  by  eating  too  often.  (8)  Ahhyavakd^ika,  living  in  an 
unsheltered  place,  (9)  Araiiyaka,  leading  a  solitary,  retired  life 
in  the  wood.  (10)  Cmi1(ihiaka,  abiding  in  or  by  a  cemetery,  that 
they  may  constantly  ponder  on  the  transiency  and  uncleanli- 
ness  of  bodily  existence.  (11)  PdynskUlika,  the  wearing  of  the 
dress  made  of  rags  or  remnants,  that  they  may  have  no  attach- 
ment to  luxury.  (12)  Ndmatika,  wearing  cloth  made  of  hair. 
There  is  a  Sutra  named  Tivelve  DJi^ilagimas  among  the  Chinese 
collection  of  the  Tripitaka.  The  list  in  that  book  is  a  little  different 
from  what  we  have  here  ;  the  fifth  and  twelfth  are  dropped  and 
instead  of  them  we  have  the  rule  of  begging  in  due  order,  corre- 
sponding to  Sa^adihia-cch'ikd  in  the  Pali  list,  and  the  rule  of  pro- 
hibiting taking  too  much  food  at  one  time,  which  overtaxing  the 
stomach  will  obscure  the  clearness  of  mind. 

^  The  reference  is  to  the  threefold  precept  (I ?'n'2d/iaff /a)  which 
is  (i)  the  precept  of  good  behavior  {sa7nbhih-a(tla)  ;  (2)  the  precept 
of  accumulating  virtues  (kufo/asamgrdkaft/a)  ;  (3)  the  precept  of 
being  benevolent  towards  all  beings  [saili'drthaki-iydftla). 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I31 

shun  them.  If  they  suffer  sufferings,  they  should  not 
feel  afflicted.  But  they  should  always  rejoice  in  con- 
templating the  deepest  significance  of  the  Dharma.^ 

How  should  they  practise  energy  {viryd)  ? 

Practising  all  good  deeds,  they  should  never  in- 
dulge in  indolence  {kausidya).     They  should  think  of 
all  their  great  mental   and  physical  sufferings,  which 
they  are  now  vainly  suffering  on  account  of  their  hav- 
ing coveted  worldly  objects  during  their  existences  in 
innumerable  former  ages  {kalpd),  and  which  do  not 
give    the    least    nourishment    to    their  spiritual   life. 
They  should,   therefore,  in  order  to  be  emancipated 
from  those  sufferings  in  the  future,  be  indefatigably 
energetic,  and  never  raise  the  thought  of  indolence, 
but  endeavor,  out  of  deep  compassion  {mahdkaruna)y 
to  benefit  all  beings.    Though  disciplining  themselves 
in  faith,  all  novice  Bodhisattvas,  on  account  of  the 
hindrances  of  their  evil  karma  {karindvai-and)  produced 
by  the  violation  of  many  important  precepts  in  their 
previous  existences,   may  sometimes  be  annoyed  by 
evil  Maras,  sometimes  entangled  in  worldly  engage- 
ments, sometimes  threatened  by  various  diseases.     As 
these  things  will  severally  disturb  their  religious  course 
and  make  them  neglect  practising  good  deeds,  they 
should  dauntlessly,  energetically,  unintermittently,  all 

^The  older  translation  reads:  "Patiently  bearing  evils  in- 
flicted by  others,  they  should  not  cherish  any  idea  of  revenge. 
They  should  also  bear  such  [worldly  vicissitudes]  as  prosperity 
and  decline,  reprehension  and  commendation,  renown  and  defama- 
tion, worry  and  ease,  etc." 


132  AgVAGHOSHA S 

six  watches,  day  and  night,  pay  homage  to  all  Bud- 
dhas,  make  offerings  {_puja)  to  them,  praise  them,  re- 
pent and  confess  {kshania)  to  them,  aspire  to  the  most 
excellent  knowledge  {samyaksambodhi')^  make  great 
vows  imahapranidhdnd)  ;  and  thereby  annihilate  the 
hindrances  of  evils  and  increase  the  root  of  merit 
(yku<;alamula). 

How  should  they  practise  cessation  [or  tranquili- 
sation,  ga??iatha']  and  intellectual  insight  {vidar^ana 
or  vipagyana)  ? 

To  bring  all  mental  states  that  produce  frivolous 
sophistries  to  a  stand  is  called  cessation.  To  under- 
stand adequately  the  law  of  causality  and  transforma- 
tion is  called  intellectual  insight.  Each  of  them  should 
be  practised  separately  by  the  beginner.  But  when 
by  degrees  he  obtains  facility  and  finally  attains  to 
perfection,  the  two  will  naturally  become  harmonised.^ 

Those  who  practise  cessation  should  dwell  in  soli- 
tude i^dranyakd)  and,  sitting   cross-legged,^  rectify  the 

^  Observe  that  cessation  should  be  practised  by  the  beginner, 
and  for  a  time  only,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  mind  an  ap- 
preciation of  suchness  in  its  purity ;  the  conception  of  this  state  of 
abstraction  should  then  be  harmonised  with  intellectual  insight. 
Observe  also  that  the  methods  of  Indian  recluses,  such  as  fixing  the 
breath  and  going  into  trances  by  fixing  the  thoughts  on  objects,  are 
rejected  as  improper.  The  practice  should  assist  a  beginner  to 
understand  that  suchness,  though  all  particulars  are  dependent  on 
it,  is  in  its  purity  a  reality. 

2  Those  who  practise  this  have  to  place  the  left  leg  above  the 
right  with  both  close  to  the  body,  so  that  the  toes  of  the  left  foot 
shall  rest  on  the  right  thigh,  and  those  of  the  right  foot  on  the  left 
thigh,  while  the  soles  are  turned  upwards.     This  posture  is  con- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  33 

attitude  and  pacify  the  mind.^  Do  not  fix  the  thoughts 
on  the  breath  (dndpdnasvirtiy^',  do  not  fix  the  thoughts 
on   the  forms   {samjiiaf  and  colors  ;    do  not  fix  the 

sidered  to  be  the  best  adapted  for  meditation  or  for  obtaining  men- 
tal equilibrium. 

^  Among  the  followers  of  the  Dhyana  sect  both  in  Japan  and 
China,  it  is  customary,  while  sitting  cross-legged  and  meditating 
on  religious  subjects,  to  expand  the  abdomen  outwards  and  to 
breathe  very  slowly,  by  which  they  can,  in  their  opinion,  most 
effectively  concentrate  their  attention  and  gain  perfect  mental  equi- 
librium. Prof.  J.  M.  Baldwin  in  his  Me7ital  Development  says  in 
connexion  with  bashfulness  and  modesty,  p.  205  footnote:  "The 
only  way  that  I,  for  one,  can  undo  this  distressing  outgo  of  energy, 
and  relieve  these  uncomfortable  inhibitions,  is  to  expand  the  ab- 
domen by  a  strong  muscular  effort  and  at  the  same  time  breathe 
in  as  deeply  as  I  can.  .  .  .  The  comparative  relief  found  in  expand- 
ing the  abdominal  muscles  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it  allows 
the  contents  of  the  body  to  fall,  and  so  relieves  the  heart  from  any 
artificial  pressure  which  may  be  upon  it  from  the  surrounding  or- 
gans. Further  the  increased  heart-action  which  is  itself  a  part  of 
shyness  requires  all  the  space  it  can  get." 

2  One  of  the  eight  subjects  of  recollection  {anusmrti),  or  of 
the  five  methods  of  mental  pacification.  The  eight  subjects  are  : 
(i)  Buddha;  (2)  dharma ;  (3)  samgha;  (4)  (fla,  morality;  (5)  cdga 
or  tyciga,  liberality  ;  (6)  deva,  gods  ;  (7)  dnd^dna,  regulation  of 
inspiration  and  respiration  ;  (8)  marana,  death.  The  five  meth- 
ods are  :  (i)  A(ubhabhdvand,  contemplation  on  the  impurity  of 
the  body  ;  (2)  maitrtkarund ,  love  and  compassion  ;  (3)  dnd-pdna- 
smrti,  the  regulation  of  inspiration  and  respiration  ;  (4)  niddna, 
law  of  transformation  ;  (5)  buddhasmrti,  recollection  on  Buddha. 

^  There  are  nine  Apbhasamjnas,  notions  arising  from  the  con- 
templation of  the  impurity  of  a  dead  body,  which  is  intended  to 
convince  one  of  the  fact  that  our  body  is  not  worth  while  clinging 
to:  (i)  Swelling  {vyddhmataka)  ;  (2)  fissuring  from  decay  {vipH- 
yaka) ;  (3)  bloody  {vilohita) ;  (4)  festering  {vifadumaka) ;  (5) 
blackish  {vintlaka) ;  (6)  being  devoured  by  animals  {vikhdditaka); 
(7)  scattering  {vikshifftaka) ;  (8)  bone  [asthi)  ;  (9)  burned  up  [vi- 
dagdhaka).     The  Pali  Apubhas  count  one  more. 


134  AgVAGKOSHA'S 

thoughts  on  space  {dkdca)  \^  do  not  fix  the  thoughts 
on  earth,  water,  fire,  and  ether  ;i  do  not  fix  the 
thoughts  on  what  you  see,  hear,  learn,  or  memorise 
{vijndfiakrtsnciyatanaf-.  All  particularisations,  imagi- 
nations and  recollections  should  be  excluded  from 
consciousness,  even  the  idea  of  exclusion  being  ex- 
cluded;  because  [the  suchness  of]  all  things  is  un- 
create,  eternal,  and  devoid  of  all  attributes  {alak- 
shand). 

[Now  in  the  constant  flux  of  thoughts,]  that  which 
precedes  [i.  e.,  a  sensation]  has  been  awakened  by  an 
external  object ;  so  the  next  [step  to  be  taken  by  the 
practiser]  is  to  abandon  the  idea  of  an  external  world. 
Then  that  which  succeeds  [in  that  constant  flux  of 
thoughts]  is  elaborated  in  his  own  mind;  so  he  should 
in  turn  abandon  reflexion  [or  thought].  In  short,  as 
his  attention  is  distracted  by  the  external  world  [outer 
vishaya\,  he  is  warned  to  turn  it  to  inner  consciousness 
[inner  citta\  \  while  as  his  retrospection  in  turn  calls 
forth  a  succession  of  thoughts  [or  ideal  associations], 
he  is  again  warned  not  to  attach  himself  to  the  latter  ; 
because,  independent  of  suchness,  they  [thoughts] 
have  no  existence  of  their  own. 

At  all  times,  while  moving,   standing,   sitting,  or 

^  These  constitute  the  ten  Krtsc'iyatanas  which  are  :  (i)  Blue 
{ntla)\  (2)  yellow  [pita);  (3)  red  [iohi'ta);  (4)  white  {avadilla) ; 
(5)  earth  {prtivt) ;  (6)  water  (a/)  ;  (7)  fire  {tej'as) ;  (8)  air  [Tdyzi]  ; 
(9)  space  {(Ikdsa)  ;  (10)  consciousness  (v(/?i(1na).  The  term  Krtsa- 
ydtayia  means  an  universal  object  or  element  on  which  the  atten- 
tion of  a  samddhi-practiser  is  to  be  fixed. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I35 

lying,  the  practiser  should  constantly  discipline  him- 
self as  above  stated.  Gradually  entering  the  samadhi 
of  suchness/  he  will  finally  vanquish  all  prejudices 
{klega  or  dprava),  be  strengthened  in  faith  {^raddhd), 
and  immediately  attain  to  the  state  of  never-returning 
{avaivartikaiva) .  But  those  who  are  sceptical,  sacri- 
legious, destitute  of  faith,  encumbered  with  the  hin- 
drances (avarana)  of  karma,  arrogant,  or  indolent,  are 
not  entitled  to  enter  therein. 

And  again  when  the  practiser  by  virtue  of  his  sa- 
madhi^  attains  an  immediate  insight  into  the  nature 
of  the  universe  {dhar7nadhdtu) ^  he  will  recognise  that 
the  Dharmakaya  of  all  Tathagatas  and  the  body  of  all 
beings  are  one  and  the  same  {samatd),  are  consub- 
stantial  {ekalakshand).  On  that  account  it  is  also  called 
the  samadhi  of  oneness  {ekalakshanasamddhi').  By  dis- 
ciplining oneself  in  this  samadhi,  one  can  obtain  in- 


^  That  is,  perfect  identification  of  oneself  with  suchness. 

2  Samadhi  is  commonly  rendered  by  ecstasy,  trance,  concen- 
tration, or  meditation,  all  of  which  are  misleading.  The  terra 
means  mental  equilibrium,  and  the  reasons  why  Buddhism  recom- 
mends the  practising  of  it  are,  that  it  helps  us  in  keeping  our  minds 
free  from  disturbance,  that  it  prepares  us  for  a  right  comprehen- 
sion of  the  nature  of  things,  that  it  subjugates  momentary  im- 
pulses, giving  us  time  for  deliberation.  Ecstasy  or  trance,  instead 
of  producing  those  benefits,  will  lead  us  to  a  series  of  hallucina- 
tions, and  this  is  the  very  opposite  of  mental  quietude.  Rhys 
Davids  thinks  samadhi  corresponds  to  faith  in  Christianity  (6*.  B. 
E.,  XL,  p.  145),  and  S.  Beal  agrees  with  him  in  his  translation  of 
Apvaghosha's  Bicddhacarita ;  but  I  doubt  its  correctness  for  the 
above-stated  reasons. 


136  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

finite  samadhis,  because  suchness  is  the  source  of  all 
samadhis. 

Some  people  scantily  supplied  with  the  root  of 
merit  {kuoalanmla')  may  yield  to  the  temptation  of 
Maras,  tirthakas,  or  evil  spirits.  [For  instance]  those 
evil  ones  sometimes  assuming  horrible  forms  may 
frighten  the  practiser ;  sometimes  manifesting  them- 
selves in  beautiful  figures,  they  may  fascinate  him;^ 
sometimes  appearing  in  form  of  a  deva,  or  of  a  Bod- 
dhisattva,  or  even  of  a  Buddha  with  all  his  excellent 
and  magnified  features,^  they  may  speak  about  dha- 
rani^  or  the  paramita,  or  may  give  instructions  about 
various  means  of  emancipation  {inukti^,  declaring  that 
there  is  no  hatred,   no  friendship,   no  causation,  no 

^  The  older  translation  has  the  following  passage  inserted  here: 
"  If  he  [the  practiser]  remembers  that  these  are  merely  subjective, 
the  phenomena  will  disappear  by  themselves  and  will  no  more 
trouble  him." 

2  Buddha  is  supposed  to  have  thirty-two  general  and  eighty 
minor  marks  of  bodily  perfection.  For  particulars  see  the  Dhar- 
masamgraha,  pp,  18,  19,  51  at  seq.,  edited  by  Kasawara  Kenjiu. 

^  DJidram,  which  comes  from  the  root  c?/rr,  meaning  to  hold, 
to  maintain,  to  retain,  to  support,  etc.,  is  the  name  given  to  any 
concise  statement  describing  Buddha's  virtue,  or  stating  some  es- 
sential points  of  Buddhist  teachings,  or  expressing  supplication,  or 
containing  the  exclamations  of  a  vehement  feeling;  and  it  implies 
many  significances  in  a  few  words,  it  is  a  kind  of  epigram.  But 
later  Buddhists  came  to  use  the  term  in  quite  a  different  sense; 
they  called  a  dharani  any  tantric  expression  which  was  consid- 
ered to  have  some  mysterious,  supernatural  powers  to  bring  wealth 
to  destroy  enemies,  to  keep  away  calamities,  etc.,  etc.  Here  d/ul- 
rani  means  simply  any  epigrammatic  proposition  which  will  serve 
as  a  key  to  the  deep  significance  of  the  Doctrine. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  37 

retribution,  or  declaring  that  all  things  in  the  world 
are  absolute  nothingness  {atyantapinyatd) ,  that  they 
are  in  their  essence  Nirvana  itself.  Or  they  may  re- 
veal to  the  practiser  his  ovjn  past  and  future  states  of 
existence,  they  may  teach  him  to  read  the  thoughts 
of  others, 1  may  grant  him  incomparable  power  of 
eloquence,  may  induce  him  to  crave  covetously  for 
worldly  fame  and  advantages. 

Further,  through  the  influence  of  those  evil  ones 
the  practiser  may  sometimes  be  inordinately  suscept- 
ible to  dissatisfaction  or  delight ;  he  may  sometimes 
be  too  misanthropic  or  too  philanthropic ;  he  may 
sometimes  be  inclined  to  enjoy  drowsiness ;  he  may 
sometimes  not  sleep  for  a  long  time ;  he  may  some- 
times be  affected  by  diseases ;  he  may  sometimes  re- 
main discouraged  and  indolent;  he  may  sometimes 
rise  all  on  a  sudden  with  full  energy,  but  only  to  sink 
down  again  into  languor;  he  may  sometimes,  being 
over-sceptical,  not  believe  in  anything  ;  he  may  some- 
times, abandoning  the  excellent  religious  observance, 
enjoy  himself  in  frivolous  occupations,  indulge  in 
worldly  affairs,   gratify  his  desires  and  inclinations ; 

^  Some  of  these  miraculous  powers  here  mentioned  are  consid- 
ered to  be  possessed  by  the  Arhat.  Six  supernatural  faculties 
{ahhijnd)  are  commonly  enumerated:  (i)  divine  eyes  {divyacakshu) 
by  which  the  Arhat  perceives  all  that  is  occurring  in  the  world ; 
{2)  the  divine  hearing  {divya(rotra),  by  which  he  hears  all  sounds 
in  the  world ;  (3)  reading  the  thoughts  of  others  {pa7'acittajndna); 
(4)  memory  of  his  former  lives  {'pilrvanivcisdnu-sm7-ti);  (5)  mirac- 
ulous powers  {rddhi);  (6)  knowledge  how  to  destroy  evil  passions 
{c1(7'avakshaya ) . 


138  AfVAGHOSHA'S 

he  may  sometimes  attain  to  the  samadhi  of  heretics 
[i.  e.,  tirthaka]  and,  remaining  in  a  state  of  trance  a 
day  or  two,  or  even  seven,  and  being  supplied  imagin- 
arily  with  some  palatable  food  and  drink,  and  feeling 
very  comfortable  mentally  and  physically,  he  may  have 
no  sensation  of  hunger  or  thirst;^  he  may  sometimes 
be  induced  to  enjoy  female  fascinations ;  he  may 
sometimes  be  very  irregular  in  taking  meals,  either 
too  much  or  too  little;  he  may  sometimes  look  either 
very  handsome  or  very  ugly  in  appearance. 

If  the  practiser  get  enraptured  by  those  visions 
and  prejudices  {klega),  he  will  lose  his  root  of  merit 
{ku^alanmld)  accumulated  in  his  previous  existences. 
Therefore  he  should  exercise  a  deep  and  thorough 
contemplation,  thinking  that  all  those  [heretical  states 
of  samadhi]  are  the  temptations  of  Maras  or  evil  spir- 
its that  take  advantage  of  his  deficiency  in  merits  and 
his  intensity  of  karma-hindrances  {karmdvarand). 

After  this  thought  he  should  make  another  thought, 
viz.,  that  all  these  are  nothing  but  mental  hallucina- 
tions. When  he  makes  these  thoughts,  the  visions 
and  imaginations  will  instantly  disappear,  and,  be- 
coming free  from  all  attributes  [of  limitation],  he 
will  enter  into  the  true  samadhi.  He  has  then  not 
only  liberated  himself  from  all  modes  of  subjectivity, 
he  has  also  effaced  the  idea  of  suchness.     Even  when 

'  This  apparently  alludes  to  the  Yoga-praxis,  by  which  man  is 
said  to  be  able  to  perform  several  sorts  of  miracles  beside  those 
mentioned  here. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I  39 

he  rises  up  from  a  deep  meditation,  no  visionary  im- 
ages, no  prejudices  will  take  possession  of  in  his  mind, 
since  he  has  destroyed  the  root  of  illusion  through  the 
power  of  the  samadhi.  On  the  contrary,  all  the  ex- 
cellent and  virtuous  deeds  which  are  in  conformity 
with  suchness  will  be  constantly  performed  by  him, 
while  all  hindrances  without  exception  will  be  removed 
by  him,  who  now  exhibiting  great  spiritual  energy  will 
never  become  exhausted.^ 

Those  who  do  not  practise  this  kind  of  samadhi 
will  not  be  able  to  enter  into  the  essence  of  the  Tatha- 
gata,  for  all  other  samadhis  practised  in  common  with 
the  tirthakas  have  invariably  some  attributes  [of  im- 
perfection] and  do  not  enable  one  to  come  into  the 
presence  of  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas.  Therefore  let 
Bodhisattvas  [who  aspire  to  the  highest  knowledge] 
assiduously  apply  themselves  to  the  discipline  and 
attain  to  the  perfection  of  this  samadhi. 

^  The  two  preceding  paragraphs  read  in  the  older  translation 
as  follows  :  "On  this  account,  the  practiser,  always  exercising  in" 
tellectual  insight,  should  save  his  mind  from  being  entangled  in 
the  netting  of  falsity;  he  should,  dwelling  in  right  contemplation, 
not  cling  or  attach  [to  any  object],  and  thereby  he  will  be  able  to 
liberate  himself  from  all  kinds  of  karma-hindrance.  It  should  be 
known  that  all  samadhis  practised  by  heretics  [i.  e.,  tirthaka]  are 
invariably  the  production  of  the  [egoistic]  conception  and  desire 
and  self-assumption,  that  they  are  hankering  after  worldly  renown 
advantages,  and  reverence.  The  samadhi  of  suchness  [on  the 
other  hand]  has  nothing  to  do  with  subjectivity  and  attachment. 
If  one  is  free  from  indolence  even  when  rising  from  meditation 
one's  prejudices  will  by  degrees  get  attenuated." 


140  a^vaghosha's 

Those  who  practise  this  samadhi  will  procure  in 
their  present  life  ten  beneficial  results : 

1.  They  will  always  be  remembered  and  guarded 
by  all  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  in  all  quarters. 

2.  They  will  not  be  molested  by  Maras  or  evil 
spirits. 

3.  They  will  not  be  led  astray  by  false  doctrines.^ 

4.  They  will  be  free  from  disparaging  the  deepest 
Doctrine  {^garjibhii-adharma).  Their  serious  misdemean- 
ors as  well  as  their  karma-hindrances  will  be  attenu 
ated. 

5.  They  will  destroy  all  doubts,  sinful  recollec- 
tions, and  contemplations. 

6.  They  will  be  strengthened  in  their  belief  in  the 
spiritual  state  of  Tathagata. 

7.  They  will  be  liberated  from  gloomy  remorse ; 
they  will  be  courageous  and  unflinching  in  the  face  of 
birth  and  death. 

8.  Being  free  from  arrogance  and  presumptuous- 
ness,  they  will  be  meek  and  patient  and  will  be  re- 
vered by  all  the  world. 

g.  If  not  practising  deep  meditation,  those  preju- 
dices (d^rava)  which  are  now  getting  weaker,  will  not 
assert  themselves  in  them. 

10.  While  practising  meditation,  they  will  not  be 
disturbed  by  any  external  objects,  such  as  voices, 
sounds,  etc. 

^  The  older  translation  reads  :  "the  ninety-five  heretical  doc- 
trines." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I4I 

But  mind  :  when  the  practiser  is  trained  only  in 
cessation  {^amaiha),  his  mind  will  sink  down  into  stu- 
pidity, and  acquiring  a  habit  of  indolence,  cannot  re- 
joice in  doing  good  acts,  as  he  will  estrange  himself 
from  deep  compassion  {inahdkaruna) .  Accordingly 
he  should  discipline  himself  in  intellectual  insight 
{vidar^and)  as  well. 

In  what  does  this  discipline  consist? 

The  practiser  should  contemplate  that  all  things 
in  the  world  are  subject  to  a  constant  transformation, 
that  since  they  are  transient  they  are  misery,  that 
since  they  are  misery  they  are  not  things-in-them- 
selves  [i.  e. ,  atman].^ 

He  should  contemplate  that  all  things  in  the  past 
are  like  a  dream,  those  in  the  present  are  like  the 
lightning,  those  in  the  future  are  like  clouds  that  spon- 
taneously come  into  existence. 

He  should  contemplate  that  all  that  has  a  body  is 
impure,  being  a  lodging  place  of  obnoxious  vermin 
and  the  intermixture  of  prejudices  (^d^rava). 

Contemplate  that  ignorant  minds,  on  account  of 
their  groundless  imagination,  take  the  unreal  as  they 
see  it,  for  reality. 

Contemplate  that  all  objects  which  come  into  ex- 
istence by  a  combination   of   various  causes   {prat- 


^  The  idea  is :  that  which  is  transient  is  dependent,  conditional 
and  not  self-regulating ;  and  that  which  is  without  freedom  is  nec- 
essarily miserable,  that  is  to  say,  it  has  no  self-regulating  atman 
within  itself. 


142  AgVAGHOSHA'S 

yaya)  are  like  a  chimera,  having  [only  a  transitory  ex- 
istence and]  no  [genuine]  realness  at  all. 

Contemplate  that  the  highest  truth  {^  par  am  art  ha- 
satyd)  is  not  a  production  of  mind  [or  subjectivity], 
cannot  be  [fully]  illustrated  by  analogy,  cannot  be 
[exhaustively]  treated  by  reasoning.^ 

Contemplate  that  on  account  of  the  perfuming 
power  of  ignorance  {avidya)  all  beings  from  eternity 
suffer  great  mental  and  physical  sufferings  in  im- 
measurable ways;  that  those  immeasurable  and  in- 
numerable sufferings  are  suffered  in  the  present  and 
will  be  suffered  in  the  future ;  that  while  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  disentangle,  to  emancipate  themselves  from 
those  sufferings,  all  beings  always  abiding  in  the  midst 
of  them  are  not  conscious  of  the  fact,  and  this  makes 
them  the  more  pitiable. 

After  these   contemplations  the   practiser  should 
awake   positive   knowledge  [or  unerring  understand 
ing],  feel  the  highest  and  deepest  compassion  {Jzartma^ 
for  all  suffering  beings,  rouse  dauntless  energ}^,  and 
make  great  vows  {inahdpranidhdnd)  as  follows : 

''May  my  mind  be  freed  from  all  contradictions; 
may  I  abandon  particularisation ;  may  I  personally 
attend  on  all  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  whom  I  shall 
pay  homage  to,  make  offerings  to,  revere  and  praise, 
and  to  whose  instructions  in  the  good  Doctrine  {sad- 
dhar??ia)  I  shall  listen  ;  may  I  truthfully  discipline  my- 
self according  to  their  teachings,  and  to  the  end  of 

^  The  last  three  clauses  are  missing  in  the  older  translation. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 43 

the  future  never  be  negligent  in  self-discipline;  may  I 
with  innumerable  expediencies  {iipdyd)  [of  salvation] 
deliver  all  beings  who  are  drowned  in  the  sea  of  mis- 
ery, and  bring  them  to  the  highest  bliss  of  Nirvana." 

After  these  vows  the  practiser  should  at  all  times, 
so  far  as  his  energy  permits,  practise  those  deeds 
which  are  beneficial  both  to  himself  and  others.  While 
moving,  standing,  sitting,  or  lying,  he  should  assidu- 
ously meditate  what  should  be  done  and  what  should 
be  avoided.  This  is  called  the  practising  of  intellectual 
•nsight  {vidarcyana  or  vipa^yafia). 

And  again  when  the  practiser  disciplines  himself 
only  in  intellectual  insight  his  mind  may  lack  tran- 
quilisation,  and  becoming  too  susceptible  to  scepti- 
cism, may  not  be  in  accord  with  the  highest  truth, 
may  not  attain  to  the  wisdom  of  non-particularisation. 
Therefore  cessation  and  intellectual  insight  should  be 
practised  side  by  side.  He  should  consider  that  noth- 
ing is  self-existent  {svabhdva),  and  things  [in  their 
essence]  are  uncreate,  eternally  tranquil,  and  Nirvana 
itself.  But  at  the  same  time  let  him  not  forget  to  re- 
flect that  karma  and  its  retribution,  both  good  and 
evil,  being  produced  by  a  co-operation  of  principle 
and  conditions,  will  neither  be  lost  nor  destroyed. 
He  should  thus  ponder  on  the  law  of  causation,  both 
in  its  good  and  evil  karma  and  retribution,  but  at  the 
same  time  let  him  not  forget  to  perceive  that  all 
things,  though  in  their  essence  uncreate,  have  no  self- 
existence,  etc.,  they  are  Nirvana. 


144  Ag:VAGHOSHA'S 

By  practising  cessation,  common  people  {prthag- 
jana)  will  be  cured  of  finding  pleasures  in  worldli- 
ness,  while  (J^ravakas  and  Pratyekabuddhas  will  be 
cured  of  feeling  intimidation  at  the  thought  of  birth 
and  death. 

By  practising  intellectual  insight  common  people 
will  be  cured  of  not  cultivating  their  root  of  merit 
{ku(;alam2ild)^  while  ^^^^akas  and  Pratyekabuddhas 
will  be  cured  of  narrow-mindedness  whereby  they  can- 
not raise  deep  compassion  [for  mankind]. 

Therefore,  cessation  and'  intellectual  insight  are 
supplementary  to,  not  independent  of,  each  other. 
If  one  of  the  two  is  wanting,  the  practiser  will  surely 
be  unable  to  attain  to  the  most  excellant  knowledge 
{podhiparinishpatti  ) . 

And  again  when  those  novice  Bodhisattvas  who 
are  living  in  this  present  life  \sahdlokadhdiu^  i.  e.,  the 
enduring  world  of  actual  existence],  may  sometimes 
suffer  misfortunes  that  are  caused  by  climate,  weather, 
unforeseen  famine,  or  what  not ;  and  when  they  wit- 
ness those  people  who  are  immoral,  fearful,  infatuated 
with  the  three  venomous  passions  {akii^alamilla),  cling 
to  false  and  self-contradictory  doctrines,  desert  the 
good  law  and  acquire  evil  habits  ;  they  [that  is,  novice 
Bodhisattvas],  living  in  the  midst  of  them,  may  feel 
so  discouraged  that  they  may  come  to  doubt  whether 
they  can  see  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  whether  they 
can  actualise  their  pure  and  spotless  faith  {^'raddka). 

Therefore,  it  is  advisable  for  those  novices  to  cher- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 45 

ish  this  thought :  All  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas  in 
the  ten  quarters  having  great,  unimpeded  supernat- 
ural powers  {abhijnd),  are  able  to  emancipate  all  suf- 
fering beings  by  means  of  various  expediencies  that 
are  good  and  excellent  {iipdyakau(^alyd). 

After  this  reflexion,  they  should  make  great  vows 
{mahdpranidhdnd),  and  with  full  concentration  of  spir- 
itual powers  think  of  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas 
When  they  have  such  a  firm  conviction,  free  from  all 
doubts,  they  will  assuredly  be  able  to  be  born  in  the 
Buddha-country  beyond  {buddha-kshetrd),  when  they 
pass  away  from  this  present  life,  and  seeing  there 
Buddhas  and  Bodhisattvas,  to  complete  their  faith  and 
to  eternally  escape  from  all  evil  creations  {apdya).^ 

Therefore,  it  is  said  in  the  Siitra^  that  if  devoted 

^  The  same  idea  of  salvation  is  expressed  in  the  Bhagavad- 
gttd,  Chap.  VIII.,  p.  78  :  "And  he  who  leaves  this  body  and  de- 
parts (from  this  world)  remembering  me  in  (his)  last  moment, 
comes  into  my  essence.  There  is  no  doubt  of  that.  .  .  .  Therefore 
at  all  times  remember  me.  .  .  .  Fixing  your  mind  and  understand- 
ing on  me  you  will  come  to  me,  there  is  no  doubt  He  who  thinks 
of  the  supreme  divine  being,  O  son  of  Pritha  !  with  the  mind  not 
(running)  to  other  (objects),  and  possessed  of  abstraction  in  the 
shape  of  continuous  meditation  (about  the  Supreme)  goes  to  him.' 

2  It  is  not  exactly  known  from  what  Sutra  this  passage  is  taken, 
but  it  is  not  difficult  to  discover  similar  passages  in  the  Sutras 
which  constitute  the  canonical  books  of  the  Sukhavati  sect,  i.  e., 
in  the  larger  or  smaller  Siikhdvatt-vyilha,  or  in  the  Amitiynr- 
dhyd?ia.  I  here  quote  such  a  passage  from  Max  Miiller's  English 
translation  of  the  larger  Sukhdvatt-vyilha-SUtra,  Sec.  XXVII. : 
"And  if,  O  Ananda,  any  son  or  daughter  of  a  good  family  should 
wish — What  ? — How  then  may  I  see  that  Tathagata  Amitabha  vis- 
ibly, then  he  must  raise  his  thought  on  to  the  highest  perfect  knowl 
edge,  he  must  direct  his  thought  with  perseverance  and  excessive 


146  a^vaghosha's 

men  and  women  would  be  filled  with  concentration  of 
thought,  think  of  Amitabha  Buddha  in  the  world  of 
highest  happiness  (sukhdvati)  in  the  Western  region, 
and  direct  (^pariridmd)  all  the  root  of  their  good  work 
toward  being  born  there,  they  would  assuredly  be  born 
there. 

Thus  always  seeing  Buddhas  there,  their  faith  will 
be  strengthened,  and  they  will  never  relapse  therefrom. 
Receiving  instruction  in  the  doctrine,  and  recognising 
the  Dharmakaya  of  the  Buddha,  they  will  by  gradual 
discipline  be  able  to  enter  upon  the  state  of  truth 
[i.  e.,  Buddhahood]  {samyaktva-rd^i^. 

V.   BENEFITS. 

In  what  does  this  part  [treating]  of  the  benefits 
consist  ? 

Such  as  above  presented  is  the  spiritual  signifi- 
cance of  the  Mahayana,  and  I  have  finished  elucidat- 
ing it. 

Those  who,  desiring  to  produce  pure  and  spotless 
faith  in,  and  knowledge  of,  the  deepest  spiritual  con- 
desire  towards  that  Buddha  country,  and  direct  the  stock  of  his 
good  works  towards  being  born  there."  As  I  noticed  elsewhere,  if 
those  Mahayana  texts  had  been  considered  at  the  time  of  AQva- 
ghosha,  that  is,  in  the  first  century  after  or  before  Christ,  as  a  gen- 
uine teaching  of  Buddha,  then  it  would  have  to  be  admitted,  it 
seems  to  me,  that  the  Mahayana  system  existed  at  an  early  stage 
of  the  development  of  Buddhism,  most  probably  side  by  side  with 
Hinaydnism,  which  is  generally  supposed  by  P^li  scholars  to  be 
more  primitive.  But  the  history  of  Buddhism  in  India  as  a  whole 
is  still  veiled  with  dark  clouds  of  uncertainty,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  quite  a  few  original  Sanskrit  texts  have  been  recovered. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  I47 

dition  and  the  greatest  Dharma  of  the  Tathagata,  so 
that  they  have  no  hindrances  in  entering  upon  the 
Mahayana  path  (j?idrga),  will  diligently  pursue  this 
brief  discourse,  contemplate  it,  discipline  themselves 
in  it,  and  thus  they  can  surely  and  unhesitatingly  at- 
tain to  the  knowledge  of  all  forms  and  manifestations 
{sarvdkdrajndnd) . 

And  if  they  do  not  awake  a  feeling  of  fear  in  hear- 
ing this  Doctrine,  they  will  surely  be  qualified  to  in- 
herit the  Buddha-seeds  and  immediately  receive  the 
prophecy  {vijdkarana)'^  from  the  Buddha,  Even  if 
there  be  a  person  who  could  convert  all  beings  in  three 
thousand  great  chiliocosms  (^trisdhasramahdsdhasra),^ 
and  could  induce  them  to  observe  the  ten  precepts  of 
morality  {daQaku(;alamd7'ga),  his  merits  will  not  be  su- 

^  This  is  not  a  mere  prophecy  of  one's  destiny,  but  Buddha's 
assurance  for  those  Bodhisattvas  who,  having  accumulated  suffi- 
cient amount  of  merits,  are  qualified  to  attain  in  the  future  the 
most  excellent,  perfect  knowledge  and  to  achieve  final  salvation 
both  for  themselves  and  for  all  other  beings.  See  how  five  hun- 
dred disciples  received  this  assurance  from  Buddha  in  the  Sad- 
dkarma^tmdartka  SUtra,  Chap.  VIII. 

2  Our  earth  which  was  supposed  by  ancient  Indians  to  be  flat, 
infinitely  extending  in  space,  is  not  the  only  region  inhabited  by 
sentient  beings  ;  but  there  are  innumerable  worlds  outside  of  this 
Manushyalokadhdtu,^\{\c\i  exist  above  as  well  as  below  us.  Now 
according  to  the  Ahhidharmako(a-(dstra  by  Vasubandhu,  a  small 
chiliocosm  {sdhasralokadhdtii)  consists  of  one  thousand  of  Rupa- 
lokas  and  of  the  first  Dhyana  heavens,  and  one  thousand  of  small 
chiliocosms  make  a  middling  chiliocosm,  a  thousand  of  which  in 
turn  making  a  great  chiliocosm.  So  we  may  take  the  great  chilio- 
cosm {mahdsdhasralokadhdtu)  as  including  all  possible  heavenly 
bodies  which  fill  up  this  boundless  space. 


148  a^vaghosha's 

perior  to  those  of  the  person  who  will  truthfully  com- 
prehend this  Doctrine  even  for  a  second  ;  because  the 
merits  of  the  latter  immeasurably  and  infinitely  sur- 
pass those  of  the  former. 

If  one  practise  this  doctrine  as  it  is  instructed  for 
one  whole  day  and  night,  the  merits  thereby  produced 
will  be  so  immeasurable,  infinite,  inconceivable  that 
all  Buddhas  in  the  ten  quarters  could  not  exhaust 
them,  even  if  each  of  them  continued  to  praise  them 
for  innumerable  asamkhe3^akalpas.^  As  the  merits  of 
suchness  have  no  limits,  so  the  merits  of  the  discip- 
line are  also  without  limit. 

Those  who  slander  this  doctrine,  on  the  other  hand, 
commit  immeasurable  faults  and  suffer  great  suffer- 
ings for  asamkheyakalpas.  Accordingly  all  beings 
should  cherish  a  firm  faith  in  the  Doctrine  and  never 
slander  it,  for  this  will  lead  to  the  destruction  of  one- 
self as  well  as  others,  nay,  even  to  the  destruction  of 
the  seeds  of  the  Triple  Treasure  {triratrid). 

By  practising  this  Doctrine  all  Buddhas  have  at- 
tained the  most  excellent  knowledge  {a7iutiarajnd?ia). 
By  practising  this  Doctrine  all  Bodhisattvas  have  ob- 
tained an  insight  into  the  Dhamrakaya  of  the  Tatha- 
gata. 

By  practising  this  Doctrine  Bodhisattvas  in  the 
past  consummated,  Bodhisattvas  in  the  future  will 
consummate,  pure  and  spotless  faith  {<^raddha)  in  the 
Mahayana.     Therefore  those  who  desire  to  practise 

^  For  an  explanation  see  the  footnote  to  kalpa,  p.  87. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH.  1 49 

those  excellent  virtues  that  are  beneficial  at  once  to 
themselves  and  others  should  diligently  study  this 
Discourse. 

I  have  now  finished  elucidating 

The    deepest    and    greatest    significance    [of    the 

Dharma]. 
May  its   merit  be  distributed  among  all  creatures, 
And  make  them  understand  the  Doctrine  of  Such- 

ness. 


GLOSSARY. 

Activity-consciousness  H  IKI  ych  sMh,  karmavijncina?  the  asser- 
tion of  the  "Will  to  Live." 

Afifectional  hindrance  M  f^  I^  ^fan  nao  chayig,  klc(dvarana,  hin- 
drance to  the  attainment  of  Nirvana,  arising  from  the  asser- 
tion of  the  "Will  to  Live." 

Affirmation,  or  Non-emptiness,  ^>  ^  fm  k'ung,  a({lnyatd,  such- 
ness  as  constituting  the  basis  of  reality  ;  it  is  equivalent  to  the 
Tathagata's  Womb. 

All-conserving  mind,  The,  M  lit  ^  1^  ct  lai  ya  shih,  or  tsang 
shih,  or  I5tJ|S^]|I5  a  li  ya,  H- 1^5  BlJ  mu  mo  shih,  dlaya-vij- 
ndna,  a  stage  in  the  evolution  of  suchness,  in  which  conscious- 
ness is  awakened  to  recognise  a  distinction  between  suchness 
and  birth-and-death. 

Aspiration  -^^'L*  fa  hsin,  cittotpdda,  desire  to  attain  the  most 
perfect  knowledge. 

Atman  ^  tfz/,  (i)  ego-soul ;  (2)noumenon  or  thing-in-itself.  Anat- 
man  is  a  negative  form  of  the  same. 

Birth-and-death  ^  ^  shhig  mieh,  samsdra,  the  material  prin- 
ciple in  contradistinction  to  the  formal  principle,  suchness. 

Consciousness  Iw  shih,  vijndna,  mentation  in  general. 

Defilement  ^  jctn,  a  cognisance  of  dual  aspect  of  suchness ;  not 
necessarily  moral  or  intellectual  fault. 

Dharma  isfe  fa,  (i)  that  which  subsists,  or  substance;  (2)  law,  doc- 
trine, or  regulative  principle. 

Dharmakaya  \^^  fa  shen,  absolute  being,  or  absolute  knowledge 
when  considered  from  the  idealistic  point  of  view. 

Ego  *B«  i,  tnanas,  the  subjective  mind  which  believes  consciously 
or  unconsciously  in  the  existence  of  the  ego-soul. 


152  a^vaghosha's 

Ego-consciousness  M  iM  t  s/if/i,  ynanovijyiciyia,  egocentric  thoughts 
in  general ;  the  mind  that  makes  a  deliberate  assumption  of  a 
dualistic  existence  of  the  ego  and  the  non-ego. 

Enlightenment  ^  chiao  {buddhi?),  another  name  for  suchness, 
psychologically  considered. 

Evolving-consciousness  ^M.  chuayi  shih,  pravrtti-vijnciyia,  a 
state  of  suchness  out  of  which  mentation  in  general  evolves. 

Ignorance  ^  P^  zvu  ming,  avidya,  a  state  of  suchness  in  its  evo- 
lution ;  practically  the  same  as  birth-and-death. 

Intellectual  hindrance  Bf^D  [>^  so  chih  chang,  jtieydvarana,  the 
hindrance  to  the  attainment  of  Nirvana,  which  arises  from 
intellectual  prejudices. 

Interrelated  defilement  ■tSBB  ^  hsiayig  ying  jari,  a  conscious  as- 
sertion of  dualism. 

Karma-hindrance,  yeh  chang,  karmdvarayia,  the  hindrance  in 
the  way  to  Nirvana,  that  is  brought  forth  by  evil  deeds  done 
in  previous  lives. 

Mahayana  7C^  tai  charig,  literally,  great  conveyance,  another 
name  for  suchness. 

Means,  or  expediency  "fi  ^  fayig  fieyi,  ufdya,  when  philosoph- 
ically considered,  the  process  of  evolution,  whereby  the  uncon- 
ditional suchness  becomes  conditional. 

Mind  »(j»  hsi7i,  citta,  relative  aspect  of  suchness.  Soul,  mind,  and 
suchness  are  to  a  certain  extent  synonymous,  but  in  this  trans- 
lation the  following  distinction  is  made :  Suchness,  when  un- 
qualified, signifies  its  absolute  aspect  and  is  practically  the 
same  with  the  soul,  while  the  term  mind  is  used  to  denote  a 
state  of  suchness  in  its  operation  or  evolution. 

Negation,  or  emptiness  S  k'ung,  (flnyatd,  an  aspect  of  suchness 
as  transcending  all  forms  of  relativitity. 

Nirvana  i^S  Wl   nieh  fayi,  the  recognition  of  the  truth  or  suchness. 

Non-enlightenment  /f»  ^  fn  chiao  (fiirbuddhi?),  another  name  for 
ignorance,  psychologically  considered.  Non-enlightenment, 
defilement,  birth-and-death,  and  ignorance,  are  more  or  less 
synonymous  and  interchangeable. 

Non-particularisation  ^^?A    xuu  fen  fich,   the   subjective  atti' 
tude  that  is  free  from  a  deliberate  assertion  of  dualism  ;  i 
is  similar  in  a  sense  to  Lao-Tze's  "Non-assertion." 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  FAITH  1 53 

Not-interrelated  defilement  ^^UW--M  pii  hsiang  yitig  jari,  an 
unconscious  assertion  of  dualism. 

Particularisation-consciousness  ^  ^'1  |^  fen  pieh  shih,  the  con- 
sciousness that  adheres  to  the  dual  aspect  of  existence ;  a  syn- 
onym of  phenomena-particularising-consciousness. 

Prejudice  'JU.  'f^  /«w  7iao,  d(rava  or  kle{a,  the  subjectivity  that 
averts  the  due  exercise  of  will  and  intellect. 

Samadhi  H  B^  sa?i  met,  or  %  ting,  literally  equilibrium,  a  state 
of  consciousness  in  which  all  modes  of  mental  activity  are  in 
equilibrium. 

Soul  >Ci»  hsi?!,  hrdaya  or  citta,  that  which  constitutes  the  kernel 
of  things,  but  not  in  the  Christian  conception  of  the  word ;  a 
synonym  of  absolute  suchness. 

Soul  as  birth-and-death,  jC»  ^  '^  hsin  sheng  mieh,  relative  aspect 
of  suchness  as  material  principle ;  a  synonym  of  ignorance. 

Soul  as  suchness  >£*»:^ihl  hsin  chen  jii,  absolute  aspect  of  such- 
ness as  purely  formal. 

Subjectivity  3c  itT-  zvang  7iien,  or  ^ '^.  i^  tuang  niefi  hsin,  or 
ilt>  ^  hsin  nien,  or  simply  J&  wzVw,  smrti,  literally,  recol- 
lection or  memory,  or  ^  ^A  fen  ^ieh,  particularisation  ;  the 
mentation  that  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  conception  of 
suchness. 

Suchness  ^  ^  cJien  j'ti,  bhMatathatd,  the  highest  reality,  or  the 
"  purely  formal  "  aspect  of  existence. 

Tathagata's  womb  iQ^Hc  ju  lai  tsatig,  tathcigata-garbha,  a 
state  of  suchness  as  containing  every  possible  merit. 

Totality  of  things  \^^  fah  chieh,  dharmadhdtu,  literally,  the 
basis  of  things,  that  is,  the  universe  as  a  whole. 

Vow  M  yuan,  or  S  HI  shih  yiian,  prayiidhdna,  cox^vsioxAy  Xx'axi'S,- 
lated  prayer,  but  not  in  the  Christian  sense,  for  Buddhists 
think  that  a  vow  or  vehement  desire  has  power  enough  to 
achieve  what  is  desired,  according  to  their  idealistic  concep- 
tion of  the  world. 


CORRIGENDA. 


Page    3,  line  2,  redLd  giUhd  iox  ghcitds. 


5. 
12, 
12, 
18, 

24. 
?6, 
60, 
60, 
119, 
126, 


8,      "     Fo  for  Fa. 
13,      "    feaceioxfiece. 
20,      "     ^  for  ^ 

22,      "    fasciculus  iox fasciculi. 
12,      "     conversio7i  for  conversions. 

4,  "     7wn-dtma?i  iox  none-dtma72. 

5 ,  "     gUnyatd  for  (finjatd. 

10,  insert  //^rt/  after  utider standing. 

I,  read  A7iupadi{es7ia  for  Afiupadhi^esa. 
17,      "     latter' s  iox  latter s\ 


INDEX. 


A^bhasamjfias,  133. 

Activity,  incomprehensible,  66 
et  seq. ;  spontaneous,  87;  un- 
conscious, 125. 

Activity-consciousness,  i.  e.,  the 
subjective  mind,  76,  84,  96, 
100,  103,  151  ;  strengthened, 
86. 

Activity-perfuming,  91. 

Agvaghosha,  as  an  artist,  34  et 
seq.;  his  conversion,  24  et 
seq.;  his  date,  2  et  seq.;  his 
different  names,  20  et  seq.; 
his  discussion  with  Parpva, 
25  et  seq. ;  his  nativity  and 
vifanderings,  17  et  seq.;  his 
patriarchal  order,  34 ;  his 
works  in  Chinese  translations, 
36etseq.;  the  first  expounder 
of  Mahayanism,  i. 

All-conserving  mind,  43,  61,  75, 

151- 
Amitabha-Buddha,  145. 

A 

Ananda,  5. 
Anatman,  47,  151. 
Aryadeva,  25,  32,  34. 
Aspiration,  89,  113  et  seq.,  122; 

its  three  forms,    113  et  seq.; 

through    faith,    113    et  seq.; 

through  knowledge  and  prac- 


tice, 113,  122;  through  intel- 
lectual insight,  113,  123  et 
seq. 

Atman,  29,  151 ;  in  things  (or 
things  -  in  -  themselves),  106  ; 
personal  (or  ego-soul),  106. 

Atman-conception,  io6. 

Atraan-theory,  the  non-personal, 
III. 

Attachment  to  names,  72-73. 

Awakening  of  Faith,  The,  its 
Chinese  translations,  38  et 
seq.,  45;  its  philosophy  out- 
lined, 41  et  seq. 

Benefits  of  the  study  of  the 
Mahayana,  145  et  seq. 

Bhagavadgita,  44,  61,  94,  145. 

Bhagavat,  46. 

Birth-and-death,  53,  75 ;  its 
raison  d'etre  and  cause,  83. 

Bliss,  Body  of,  loi,  103,  104. 

Bodhisattva,  55,  64. 

Buddha,  128. 

Buddha-carita-kavya,  i,  35,  37. 

Buddha-country,  145. 

Buddha-dharmas,  95,  98. 

Buddha-seeds,  47,  48,  145. 

Buddha,  thirty-two  marks  of 
perfection  of,  135. 


'S6 


INDEX. 


Causation,  the  law  of,  75. 
Cessation,    50,    128,    141,    144; 

how  to  practise,  132  et  seq. 
Charity,  122,  128  et  seq. 
Chiliocosms,  145. 
Chimera,  142. 
^ikshananda,  39. 
Clinging.  72. 
Clouds,  141. 
Compassion,  91,  92,  98,   114, 

116,  129,  131,  141,  142. 
Compulsion,  99. 
Compulsory  actions,  100. 
Consciousness  (or  mentation), 

65.  75- 

^raddhotpada-pastra.  See  "Ma- 

hayana-?raddhotpada-<pastra.' ' 
^ravaka,  63. 
Creation,  six  different  states  of, 

102. 
Cross-legged,  sitting,  132. 
^unya  or  ^unyata,  29,  58,  60. 
^ura,  another  name  for  Agva- 

ghosha,  21. 

Deeds,  the  five,  perfecting  faith, 
128. 

Defiled  mind,  its  six  phases  of 
defilement,  80  et  seq.,  82. 

Defilement  (or  relativity),  66, 
151 ;  interrelated  (or  second- 
ary), 80,  152  ;  not-interrelated 
(or  primary),  80  et  seq.,  153. 

Dharani,  135. 

Dharma,  The,  25,  46,  51,  67,  95, 
122,  128,  131 ;  greatest,  145; 
its  perfuming  power,  67;  true, 
70;  valid,  89. 

Dharmadhatu,  55,  62,  79,  81, 
105;  its  oneness,  116.  (See 
also  "  Universe.") 


Dharmakaya,  62,  67,  95,  96,  98, 
99,  100,  102,  103,  104,  119, 
127,  145,  148;  absolute,  120; 
not  a  nothing,  108;  not  like 
space,  107. 

Dharma-wheel  (or  wheel  of), 
120,  123. 

Dharmika-Subhdti,     another 
name  for  Apvaghosha,  21. 

Dhutaguna,  the  twelve,  129. 

Dhyana  sect,  132. 

Doctrine,  the,  56,  89  ;  the  deep- 
est, 140;  the  good,  142. 

Dream,  141. 

Durdarsha,  another  name  for 
Apvaghosha,  21, 

Durdarshakala,  another  name 
for  Apvaghosha,  21. 

Ego,  75,  94  ;  as  an  aspect  of  ig- 
norance, 72.  (See  also  Glos- 
sary, sub  voce  "Ego.") 

Ego-consciousness,  78,  152. 

Energy,  122  ;    how  to  practise, 
129. 

Enlightenment,  61,  152  ;  and  ig- 
norance, 67;  a  posteriori,  62, 
63,  66;  a  friori,  62,  63,  66, 
70,  71,  loi;  differentiated,  66 
et  seq. ;  its  twofold  relation  to 
non-enlightenment, 73;  likened 
unto  space  and  a  mirror  in 
its  four  aspects,  69  et  seq.; 
perfect,  65  ;  the  most  excel- 
lent, 114;  why  subject  to  de- 
filement, 74.  (Seealso"Knowl- 
edge"  and  "Wisdom"). 

Entertainment,  four  methods 
of,  92,  98. 

Essence  of  things,  free  from 
limitation,  112. 


INDEX. 


157 


Essence-perfuming,  88  et  seq. 

Evil  creation,  120,  121. 

Evolving-consciousness,  67,  76, 
123,  152. 

Expediency  (or  skilfulness),  or 
expediencies,  112,  126,  127, 
143,  145.  (See  also  "Means.") 

Faith,  128  ;  immovable,  49  (see 
also  ' '  Never-Returning");  the 
Mahay^na,  50. 

False  doctrines,  the  refutation 
of,  106  et  seq. 

Fire  and  wood,  simile  of,  90. 

Ganges,  sands  of  the,  89,  95, 
98,  108. 

Hindrances,  affectional,  69,  82, 
151  ;  intellectual,  69,  82,  152. 

Hymn  of  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty  ^lokas,  23. 

Ignorance,  66,  67,  77,  78,  82, 
97,  106,  142,  152;  annihilated, 
87;  as  the  defiled  dharma,  95; 
disturbs  the  mind,  84  ;  how 
it  is  produced,  79  (see  also 
"Non-Enlightenment");  its 
perfuming  power,  83,86;  puri- 
fied, 85  ;  the  principle  of  de- 
filement, 84. 

Ignorant  action,  71. 

Inconstancy,  group  of,  113,  114. 

Individual  cause,  91  et  seq. 

Intellectual  insight,  50,  128, 141, 
143  ;  how  to  gain,  132  et  seq. 

Intelligence  (or  sensation),  72. 

"Interrelated,"  explained,  81. 

Jewel,  simile  of,  116. 


Kala,  another  name  for  Apva- 
ghosha,  21. 

Kalpa,  87. 

Kanishka,  12. 

Kanishtha  (or  Kanita),  Can- 
dana,  10,  11. 

Karma,  76,  129  ;  hindrances  of 
118,    135,    138;   impure,    120; 
retribution  of,  117. 

Katyayana,  3. 

Knowledge,   perfect,   47 ;    posi- 
tive, 142  ;  the  most  excellent, 
88,  118,  129,  144;  of  all  forms 
145.  (Seealso"Omniscience.") 

Krtsayatanas,  134. 

Kulanatha,  another  name  for 
Paramartha,  38. 

Kung-chang,  another  name  for 
Apvaghosha,  21. 

Kung-te-jih,  another  name  for 
Agvaghosha,  21. 

Lightning,  141. 

Love,  and  compassion,  91  ;  and 

wisdom,  44. 
Lii  tao  lun  'hui  chmg,  38. 

Mahabodhi,  The,  115. 
Mahakagyapa,  5. 
Mahalamkara-Qastra  (or  Maha- 
lamkarasutra-pastra),     3,    20 

35.  37- 
Mahayana,  The,  48,  49,  50,  146, 

148;  its  being  and  significance, 
52  et  seq.;  its  literal  meaning 
explained,    54 ;    three   signifi- 
cances of,  95  et  seq. 
Mahayana  Buddhism,  i,  43,  44, 

45- 
Mahayana-^raddhotpada-^astra, 

3,  4,  6,  20,  36-37. 


158 


INDEX. 


Mahayana  path,  145. 

Maheprava,  22. 

Maras,  129,  135. 

Materiality,  system  of,  103. 

Maticitra,  another  name  for 
Agvaghosha,  21. 

Matrceta,  another  name  for  Aq- 
vaghosha,  21,  22. 

Matter,  103,  108,  II2^  as  a  par- 
ticularisation  of  the  confused 
mind,  107. 

Means  (or  skilfulness,  or  expe- 
diency), four  kinds  of,  117  et 
seq. 

Methods  (upaya),  124.  (See  also 
"Means"  and  "Expediency.") 

Mind  (or  alaya-vijnana),  53,  67, 
68,  71,  75,  77,  78,  loS,  112, 
152;  its  essence  not  annihi- 
lated, 87;  its  identity  with 
suchness,  106 ;  its  illusory 
manifestation,  86 ;  its  self- 
manifestation,  82  ;  its  three 
different  operations,  124;  like 
a  jewel,  116,  117;  perfect  in 
itself,  68,  79,  98.  (See  also 
"Soul.") 

Mirror,  76,  77;  covered  with 
dust,  27. 

Morality,  122;  how  to  practise, 
129;  the  ten  precepts  of,  147. 

Nagarjuna,   6,  7,  23,  34,  38,  43. 

Never-returning,  the  state  of, 
135.  (See  also  "  Immovable.") 

Nirvana,  74,  86,  87,  137,  143; 
anupadhi(pesha,  119;  attain 
to,  113;  attainment  of,  110; 
itspantheisticconception,  1 12; 
immortal,  m  ;  not  to  dwell 
in,    117;     that   has   no   fixed 


abode,  88 ;  the  essence  of  all 
things,  121. 

Non-aggregate  objects.  105. 

Non-enlightenment,  61,  70,  75, 
97;  as  the  j-a/son  d'etf'e  of 
birth-and-death,83;  compared 
to  a  man  who  is  last,  70;  its 
three  aspects,  71:  its  twofold 
relation  to  enlightenment,  73. 
(See  also  "Ignorance"  and 
Glossary.) 

' '  Not-interrelated, "    explained 
81. 

Non-particularisation,  94,  152; 
wisdom  of,  123,  143. 

Nothingness,  absolute,  137. 

Omniscience,     125,     126.     (See 

also  "  knowledge.") 
Order  of  constant  truth,  127. 

Pargva,   i,   19,   31,  32,  33;   as  a 

teacher  of  Apvaghosha,  25  et 

seq. 
Paramita,   23,   38,  98,  loi,  128 

135  ;  the  six,  92,  122  et  seq. 
Particularisation,  64,  65,  87,  97 

102,   104,   112,   113,  124,  134 

142. 
Particularisation-consciousness 

76.  153- 
Passions,    three  venomous,   50, 

144. 
Patience,  122  ;  how  to  practise 

129 
Patriarchs,  Lists  of,  33. 
Performance  of  deeds,  73. 
"Perfuming,"  explained,  84. 
Phenomenal  world,  as  a  phase 

of  ignorance,  72. 
riienomena-particularising  con- 


INDEX. 


159 


sciousness,  78  ;  strengthened, 
86,  100. 

Pitrceta,  another  name  for  Aq- 
vaghosha,  21. 

Pottery,  simile  of,  74,  75. 

Powers,  supernatural,  145. 

Practical  truth  (samvrtti-satya), 
29,  38. 

Pratyekabuddha,  63. 

Precept,  the  threefold,  129. 

Prejudices,  89,  90,  109,  115,  129, 
140,  141  ;  their  perfuming  in- 
fluence,  78. 

Prophecy,  145. 

Prthagjana  (common  people),. 

63- 

Pudgala,  29. 

Punyayagas,  28,  31,  33;  his  dis- 
cussion with  Agvaghosha,  29 
et  seq. 

Rationality,  system  of,  103. 
Reality,  the  highest,  126.     (See 

also  "Truth.") 
Recollection,  subjects  of,  132. 
Representation-consciousness, 

76. 
Reward,  Body  of,  102. 
Right  order,  121, 
Right  path,  the  practising  of, 

113  et  seq. 
Root  of  merit,   the,  49,  70,  91, 

92,   115,   132,   135,    138,    144  ; 

its    perfuming    power,     114  ; 

strengthened,  118. 

Samadhi,  138  ;  the  power  of, 
139;  of  heretics,  138:  of  one- 
ness, 135  ;  of  purity,  93. 

Sambhogakaya,  loi. 

Sameness,  principle  of,  82. 


Sense,  six  objects  of,  as  consti- 
tuting the  external  world,  84. 

Separation-consciousness,  78. 

Shame  and  remorse,  118. 

Skandhas,  the  five,  104,  112. 

Soul,  53,  60,  97 ;  as  birth-and 
death,  55,  60  et  seq.;  as  such 
ness,  55,  57  ;   its  three  facul- 
ties awakened  by  faith,  116; 
the  essence  of  the  Tathagata 
107. 

Space,  simile  of,  69,  107. 

Spontaneity  of  action,  94. 

Subjective  mind,  its  perfuming 
power,  88. 

Subjectivity,  56,  57,  66,  70,  71, 
77,  85,  138,  153;  annihilated, 
95;  as  the  condition  of  birth- 
and-death,  83. 

Succession  (or  memory),  72. 

Succession-consciousness  (or 
memory),  76,  78. 

Suchness,  43,  44,  53,  134,  139;  as 
the  inherent  perfuming  prin- 
ciple, 91;  as  the  rai'son  d'elre 
90;  defiled,  84;  faith  in,  128; 
free  from  imperfection,  118; 
its  absolute  aspect,  59  et  seq.; 
its  activity,  98  ;  its  character- 
istics described,  95;  its  differ- 
entiation, 89;  its  identity  with 
the  soul,  57;  its  negative  as- 
pect, 58  ;  its  positive  aspect, 
59;  its  perfuming  powers,  88, 
93  et  seq. ;  its  three  attributes, 
119  ;  not  a  nothing,  108  ;  not 
concerned  with  defilement, 
108;  possessed  by  all,  86; 
simple  in  its  nature,  yet  sub- 
ject to  defilement,  96  ;  to  con- 
template,   116;    the   doctrine 


i6o 


INDEX. 


of,  149;  the  gate  of,  106;  the 
idea  of,  138;  the  pure  dharraa, 

84.  95- 
Suffering,  73. 

Sukhavati  theory,  43-44,  145. 

Supernatural  faculties,  the  six, 

137- 
Sutra,  51;  quotation  from,  106, 
107,  109,  no,  120;  quotation 
from  the  Lankavatara,  65  ; 
quotation  from  the  Sukhavati, 
145  ;  quotation  from  the  Vi- 
mala-kirti-nirde^a,  74;  the 
Mahayana,  51. 

TA        A 
ara,   22. 

Ta  sung  ti  hsiian  wen  pen  lun, 

37- 

Tathagata,  49,  107,  139,  140; 
as  a  manifestation  of  enlight- 
enment, 70;  Body  of,  102; 
personality  of,  68 ;  wisdom 
and  activity  of,  94. 

Tathagata's  Wisdom,  65. 

Tathagata's  Womb,  43,  54,  60, 
96,  98,  108,  109;  immortal, 
in;  its  relation  to  birth-and- 
death,  no. 

Things,  defiled,  59 ;  how  pro- 
duced, 85;  non-entity  of,  73; 
pure,  how  produced,  86. 

Things-in-themselves,  141. 

Tirthaka,  2,  6,  135,  139. 

Tranquilisation,  122,  123,  143. 

Transformation,  Body  of,  100. 

Trikaya.  (See  "  Triple  Person- 
ality.") 


Triloka  (three  worlds),  in  ;  as 
a  manifestation  of  the  mind, 

77- 
Triple  Personality,  43-44. 
Triple  Treasure,   the,  118,  148. 
Truth,  99;  (absolute,  or  pure,  or 

highest  ^  paramartha-satya), 

29,  38,  99,  119,  142. 
Tukhara,   King   of,    10,    n,    12. 

(See  also  "  Yiieh  chih.") 
Tushita  Heaven,  iig. 

Undefiled,  the,  74, 
Universal  cause,  93  et  seq. 
Universal  wisdom,  93. 
Universal  wishes,  93. 
Universe,  its  oneness,  93. 
Upagupta,  6. 

Vaigeshika  school,  the,  no. 
Virtues,    spotless,  88    (see  also 

"Undefiled");  the  ten,  n4. 
Vow-power,  or  the  power  of 

vow,  119,  120. 
Vows,  132  ;  great,  118,  142,  145. 

Water,  the  wind,  and  the  waves, 

simile  of,  67,  83. 
Wisdom,  74,  90,  123  ;  pure,  66 

etseq.;  the  true,  113;  which 

works  out  emancipation,  99. 
World  of  highest  happiness, 

145- 

Yoga-praxis,  138. 
Yueh  chih,  King  of,  g,  12,  13. 
(See  also  "Tukhara.") 


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